Overwhelmed by all of the "Follow Friday" recommendations on Twitter? Each week AOL Health's Twitter alias Healthpop and That's_Fit search the Twittersphere for the greatest diet and fitness Twitterers, and each week, we'll highlight the best-of their best tweets (no Twits here).

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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.

Last week, I referenced a popular energy bar that touted net zero carbs, even though the whole concept of net carbs is a fiction invented by marketing departments to sell more product. While we're on the topic, the real question you need to ask is: "Does that tasty 'engineered food' actually contain the 220 calories it claims on the label?" This isn't a question you might necessarily think to ask. Most of us assume that Nutrition Facts labels -- required by law on all processed, packaged food products and relied on by millions to make healthy food choices -- reflect reality.

Turns out, many of them may not. In a test conducted by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services laboratory, 75 percent of diet products tested -- most of them regional brands -- were shown to have erroneous information on their labels. More than 10 percent of all bakery products and candies tested were mislabeled, as were 25 percent of dressings and condiments. Some of the labels were off-the-charts misleading, like a vanilla éclair said to have 2 grams of fat but actually containing 17 grams. An entire line of "sugar-free" baked goods -- more than 20 products -- from a regional company were found to contain sugar, as many as 16 grams per serving. (The baker admitted he added sugar to give the chocolate products more flavor and to enable the cookie dough to brown better. Well, duh.)

Day 3: McDonald's puts their nutritional information on the back of their tray liners, so at least they're transparent about how terrible some of their food is. You want fat and greasy? You can get it at McDonald's, but when it comes to lighter fare, they do have options.

One of my favorite breakfasts at McDonald's is their fruit and walnut salad. At 210 calories, it's more snack-sized than meal-sized, but the protein from the nuts and the yogurt can usually carry me through. But today I'm here for lunch. I decide on a grilled chicken salad -- all three are respectable, though you'll want to skip the high-fat Caeser and ranch dressings. The grilled chicken snack wraps would be another good choice, paired with a side salad.

My biggest complaint about McDonald's salads is the lettuce, a boring and tasteless iceberg. I wish they'd consider switching to fresh greens, which would make it a pretty decent lunch. I also think they need to add more low-fat dressings to their menu.

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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.

For those of us who live in lower Manhattan, Whole Foods is the only game in town. Not that I'm complaining; I'm certainly grateful for the first real supermarket in the neighborhood. After a decade of shopping in cramped, dirty delis where a carton of juice costs double the national average and there aren't any of the good kinds of cereal, Whole Foods is Mecca.

I was pondering these facts as I was grocery shopping the other day. Blueberries were "on sale" for $2.99 a pint. For that same $3, I thought, I could have walked the six steps to the nearest McDonald's (rather than the 10 blocks to Whole Foods) and ordered up a double cheese burger, medium fries and a small Coke. That's three large for two small handfuls of fruit -- or a meal fit for, well, a Burger King.

Have you seen Burger King's Whopper Virgins commercials? They aren't without their share of controversy. Most people are up in arms because the commercials are exploitative (and I agree), but I'm also bothered because I think Whopper "virgins" should be allowed to keep their virginity. Don't go ripping off those promise rings, Burger King.

There are precious few parts of the world that haven't been graced with the golden arches or the King. In fact, I hosted a young boy for the summer of 2005. He lived in an orphanage in a very remote part of Siberia and, while he had never eaten it before, he was fully aware of McDonald's and shouted out with glee the first time we passed by one.

When it comes to obesity, the U.S. is certainly a front-runner. But we aren't the only ones who consider getting fat a national pastime. According to some, the constant availability of quick and easy (and fatty, high-calorie) foods are largely to blame. Like a cold virus through a kindergarten classroom, our obesity-producing lifestyle is spreading to other cultures. And it's a sad state of affairs.

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The demise of a marriage is difficult enough to deal with -- imagine how much more trying it would be if every explosively-bitter detail were splashed across the media. How do celebs deal with that kind of public anguish? If you're soon to be ex-Mr. Madonna, you drown your sorrows ... in beer and cheeseburgers.

Guy Ritchie, the British director who made international headlines when he married the first lady of pop, is apparently finding comfort in McDonald's take-out and late nights at the pub. But who can blame him after years of following a macrobiotic diet under Madge's reign? Still, if you're going through a public divorce, you don't want to be the one who gains weight -- especially when your ex is the uber-fit Madonna.

(via Calorie Lab)

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I think I had a McDonald's Big Mac five years ago. Don Gorske likely chowed down a couple Big Macs today, yesterday and the day before.

A daily fan of two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun, Gorske reached the 23,000 Big Mac mark last month. According to this AOL video stream, he's ordered at least one-a-day for the past 36 years (usually two), except on the day his mom died -- per her wishes. Gorske intends to continue his Big Mac attack into the toothless years, only yielding if his wife has to put 'em in the blender. With dentures on the scene, I don't see this 540-calorie-29-grams-of-fat train stopping.

Twenty-three thousand Big Macs equals 667,000 grams of fat and over 12 billion calories. Sick yet? Wonder if he orders fries.

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If you live in New Zealand, McDonalds is offering you an incentive to eat at their restaurants: They'll give you fuel discounts that you can use at your local Mobil Station. Sound like a pretty good deal? Well, this 'good deal' is not going over well down under, particularly with the Obesity Action Coalition -- they feel this kind of promotion is encouraging unhealthy habits and ultimately obesity.

They have one major problem with this offer in particular: The deal is only available if you order a big mac, fries, soda and an apple pie. It's not available on salads or other healthy fare. This meal works out to a whopping 1347 calories and 64 g of fat, so let's be honest here -- whoever eats this should leave the car at home and do a bit --or a lot -- of walking.

Your thoughts?

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If you have a diet soda instead of a regular one, do you think that means you have more "room" for a big piece of cake? It sounds kind of crazy, doesn't it? Odds are the piece of cake would be more calories than the soda, and what does one thing have to do with the other anyway?

According to Brian Wansick PhD, author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, that type of reasoning isn't unusual. In the Journal of Consumer Research, Wasnick states "We found that when people go to restaurants claiming to be healthy, such as Subway, they choose additional side items containing up to 131% more calories than when they go to restaurants like McDonald's, that don't make this claim."

So when we perceive a restaurant as being "healthy," we become more liberal in our choices -- potentially choosing more calories than we might have consumed at a restaurant with fewer healthy choices. Wansick calls habits like ordering cookies to go with your low-cal sub the "halo effect." While having cookies or other treats isn't necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, it's the fact that many people are consuming these calories mindlessly; they aren't viewing them as treats, but more of a regular item that they have made space for by eating foods that they perceive as healthy.

Remember, restaurants don't always tell the whole-truth-and-nothing-but about their nutrition information. Check out Bev's post and learn why it's more like the whole-lie-and-a-bigger-butt.

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A recent report reveals that fast-food kid's meals have too many calories. This would be the point that you say "No, duh!"

Quite unsurprisingly, nearly every combination of the kid's meals at KFC, Taco Bell, Sonic, and Chick-fil-A are too fattening. Restaurants -- like McDonald's and Burger King that offer apple slices or other options instead of fries fared a little better. Subway came out on top, with 12 of its 18 possible kid's meal combinations under a reasonable amount of calories.

The study deemed a reasonable amount of calories as 430 -- based on the fact that the average 8-year-old should eat 1,200-1,300 calories a day.

Check out your knowledge about fast food and calories -- take this AOL Health quiz!

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We now know that a city the size of New York can ban trans fats altogether. But is it possible for a city the size of Los Angeles to ban fast foods? The LA City Council thinks so, and they plan on doing just that for a whole year according to recent news.

OK, they're not banning all fast foods. Rather, it's a ban that will keep new fast foods restaurants from opening up in the LA area for a year. But just what defines a fast food restaurant? Here's the criteria: "any establishment which dispenses food for consumption on or off the premises, and which has the following characteristics: a limited menu, items prepared in advance or prepared or heated quickly, no table orders and food served in disposable wrapping or containers."

It's thought this move will help reduce rising obesity levels in the LA region. That and help independent sit-down restaurants establish roots. What do you think of the move? Will it work?

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If you're suddenly trapped inside a McDonald's for six months -- don't worry -- there's plenty of food to survive and you may even lose a few pounds. In fact, a Virginia man lost 80 pounds by eating nearly every one of his meals at McDonald's over the last six months.

Chris Coleson weighed 278 pounds and had a 50 inch waist this past Christmas, now he's at 199 pounds with a 36 inch waist. No more Big & Tall stores for him. Coleson did it by choosing salads, wraps and apple dippers without dipping in the caramel sauce. His goal is to reach his wedding weight (185 pounds) -- the Colesons celebrate their 10th anniversary today. Happy Anniversary!

Amazingly, Coleson walked into a McDonald's every day and didn't once order a Big Mac Value Meal. How he ate salads and wraps for six months is beyond me. So next time you stand at the counter fretting over the Double Cheeseburger Meal or the Premium Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken, just remember Coleson. You can stay healthy in McDonald's for one day with a little willpower.

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After dragging their feet for months, McDonald's has finally caught up with their competitors. The fast food restaurant has changed the oil they use for cooking their French fries to one that's trans fat-free. Though other restaurants had already made the switch, McDonald's was worried that the change would affect the taste of their trademark fries.

A few weeks ago, my husband told me that McDonald's now offers a salt-free Big Mac. I can't find any evidence that he's right about that one, but, in any case, my response was "Why would you want to eat something like that anyway?" It's ingredients like salt, fat, and sugar that make McDonald's meals taste the way they do, and those same ingredients disguise the fact that what you're eating is ultimately junk. I can see why McDonald's was worried about the change.

Any improvement is a good one, so now when you do indulge in an order of McDonald's fries, you won't have to worry about the trans fats. But keep in mind that you do still need to worry about the fat, sodium, and calories. Learn more about healthy fast food picks with AOL Body's slide show about diet-friendly fast foods. And don't forget to sign up for our Summer Quick Fix challenge!

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I have vivid memories of frequently going to McDonald's as a kid and enjoying a Happy Meal. My metabolism revved like a jet engine at that age, so almost anything that made it down my gullet was used as energy and not stored as fat. Nowadays, If I still at McDonald's as often as I did back then, I'd probably have a body like Grimace.

It's a natural -- though very unfortunate -- fact that our metabolisms tend to slow down somewhere around the age of 25. From there, it slows down by around five to ten percent with each subsequent decade that passes. Does this mean that you're fate is sealed and that you must accept your overweight destiny? Not at all.

By exercising regularly, you can keep your metabolism decline under a great deal of control. For the most part, if you get up and start moving every day you can very well increase your metabolism, or at least keep it to around a 0.3 percent drop per decade, says Dr. John Berardi, author of The Metabolism Advantage.

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You've been going strong with your healthy eating plan, but then -- from reasons unbeknownst even to you -- you suddenly find yourself in line at a fast food restaurant. Don't panic. Everything is going to be just fine.

As you make your way up to the counter, look confident. Don't show any signs to other customers or staff that you don't belong there. Just breathe normally and smile. You may be tempted to protect your cover by keeping things simple; that is, ordering by number. Resist this temptation. Instead, look the person at the counter in the eye and tell them that you'd like a grilled chicken sandwich. Plain. Ooooh ... what temerity. How dare you walk into their joint and order something plain. Well, you just did, and judging by the stone cold look on your face, they'll know not to question you. But then, just when they think you can't possibly turn their world any more upside-down, you're going to ask for a side of mustard. Since mayo and ketchup have a fair amount of either fat or sugar, you're going with the yellow stuff. Again, don't flinch or show any signs of disquietude.

Next, they'll probably ask you if you want a meal or just the sandwich. This is probably a test to see if you're the real deal or just some health narc working the fast food circuit. Look them dead in the eye and say, "Yeah, make it a meal. Only, I don't want fries. Give me a side salad." Now, at this point, don't be surprised if people start dialing friends and family on their cell phones, telling them that they think something's going down and that this may be the last time they ever speak with them. Good, now you have them scared.