That's Fit

Need help sticking to your diet and fitness goals? Shame might be just the thing that keeps you on track.

Give Stickk.com a click and your dreams might become reality. Here's how it works: You'll sign a contract to meet a goal -- losing weight, running a marathon, quitting smoking even. Then you choose a referee, maybe your spouse, a best friend, or a colleague who agrees to track your progress. It's possible to pick yourself as the ref but site statistics indicate this is only 30% effective. Next: Enter in the e-mail addresses of all your supporters (heck, include everyone in your e-mail address book) who will send encouraging messages your way. If your progress falters, the site automatically notifies everyone on your support list.

If public embarrassment is key for keeping you line, this is your site, which happens to have a few other motivating moves you can make. You can commit a sum of money that is either returned to you or donated to charity should you make good on your plans. Slip up and your money goes to an "anti-charity" -- the NRA perhaps, if guns are a no-no for you. Just the thought of that might keep you focused, right?

Sound crazy? Maybe not. About 78% of users who designate a referee and earmark money are successful. Give it a try and see what you think -- it's free. Well, unless you mess up and lose your own money.

Spend too many late nights watching CSI and Law & Order? If you're overweight, these shows might be to blame. Over at Fitsugar, they're talking about new research that shows an interesting connection between your TV habits and your eating and spending habits.

The study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, found that consumers who had recently been reminded of their own mortality by seeing death on TV spent more money on groceries -- and ate more of those groceries as well. These findings were true of a number of food items, including snack foods like chips and soda, as well as non-snacky groceries like frozen foods, meats and vegetables. For more information on the findings, click here.

A good friend and I were chatting on the phone the other day and the subject turned to grocery costs. I thought my grocery bills were high, but compared to my friend's bills, mine are chump change. Her grocery costs were literally triple what mine were. Considering we have similarly sized families, it was kind of shocking.

In the end, we determined that the bulk of the savings is because her family eats a lot of meat and mine doesn't. It's not that my son and I eat 100% vegetarian meals every night -- we don't. But our meals have just a little meat, and larger amounts of grains and produce. Some ideas:

• Make meat stretch. Instead of cooking one chicken breast per person, make a package of chicken breasts spread over several meals. For example, one average-sized chicken breast is enough to feed three people if you serve enough veggies and grains with the meal. Use the remaining chicken for other meals such as a stir-fry or a cold chicken salad. You can apply the same principle with other meats as well. For example, a package of ground turkey can stretch into three meals for my family -- usually turkey burgers, lettuce wraps, and turkey chili with beans.

We can't ignore the fact that the economy is in a bit of a slump. And whether or not we recognize it, this affects nearly every aspect of our lives -- including our eating habits. During times of financial hardship, it's a natural reaction to stock up on foods that are processed and full of preservatives, but our healthy habits shouldn't be the first thing to go when things get a bit tough.

At least that's what nutritionist Jane Clarke says in her weekly column for The Daily Mail. She offers a few tips for reducing waste -- and ultimately cost -- when you're shopping for the family:

• Buy sliced, fresh whole wheat bread and freeze what you don't use right away.
• Add cheap, healthy ingredients like beans to your meat dishes to make the meat go further.
• Buy only as much fresh fruit as you know you can consume, and stock up on frozen fruit instead.
• In fruits do go limp, cook them (or freeze them) right away instead of throwing them out.

How do you stretch your grocery dollars?

What keeps you going to the gym? Is it the burning desire to look and feel fitter? Is it because you hope to run into the good-looking girl or guy you exchanged glances with a month ago on the treadmill? Or is it because you paid for it, so damn it, you're going to use it?!! The way I see it, whatever the reason happens to be, it's a good one if it gets you there.

But paying specific attention to the last of the three motivators (the almighty dollar), Weight Watchers magazine offers a few good tips on how to make cold hard cash your impetus for healthy change.

Pay yourself one dollar every time you make a healthy decision, such as noshing on fruits or veggies instead of a cookie. Keep an envelope on you at all times and make the small deposits as you earn them. Then, after two months, take what's in that fund and spend it on something fun.

Put $20 into a jar every time you skip a workout. This will definitely make you think twice about playing hooky. After one month, either use that money to get a healthy meal at your favorite restaurant or donate it to charity (or both, depending on how many times you flaked out).

Ever wonder what showgirls have to do with casino gambling? And why casino cocktail waitresses serve drinks in short skirts? The opportunity for men to indulge in as many vices as possible is one answer, but those individual indulgences may be more connected than they appear: Just like the free booze, the ladies are there to make guys looser with their money.

According to Men's Health, researchers from Stanford University found that erotic thoughts can cause men to throw more caution to the wind with respect to financial risk-taking. Using what's arguably not the most fairly balanced study variables, researchers had study participants look at either a steamy photo of a sexy woman or a home appliance. They then tracked the amount of money each man spent while gambling, finding that the group staring at the racy photos were more liberal with their money. Brain scans further revealed that looking at pictures of the hotties lit up areas in the mens' brains, associated with taking financial risk, like the Vegas strip.

"You anticipate that the beautiful woman is your reward, instead of the cash prize," says study author Brian Knutson, Ph.D. in his statement in the magazine. He also suggests thinking of something scary as a means of keeping keeping your cash stashed, as fearful thoughts were found to make men gamble less.

Money can't buy you happiness. That's how the saying goes, anyway. But has anyone ever subjected to this theory to any kind of scientific method? As a matter of fact, researchers from the University of Texas at Austin have, and their findings seem to support this popular tenet.

According to the research, money does play a role in the initial stages of happiness -- to the point where basic needs are met. Beyond that point, however, the affect money has on happiness appears to be far less significant. So, if money doesn't bring joy into people's lives, what does? Family ties, say researchers. Surveys on this topic indicate that while happiness is less strongly tied to changes in income, there is a strong association to changes in the quality of family relationships over time.

However, just as you still might disagree with these findings, so do some economists. As stated in a recent WebMD article, polling data from rich and poor countries reveals that satisfaction is highest among people living in the richest countries. And, within those countries, people with higher incomes tended to be happier than those with less money. In the U.S., for example, 90% of people in households making at least $250,000 considered themselves "very happy," compared to just 42% of people in households with incomes below $30,000.

Stress is a part of life, but it seems like lately with the economy in the state it's in (and gas prices skyrocketing to record high after record high), it's getting to be more than just a part of life -- for some of us, stress has downright taken over our lives.

Stress is bad, there's no doubt about that. Sure, in the case of meeting a bear in the woods, stress might help you run faster (or are you supposed stand still?) but in a civilized society, stress doesn't do much more than make us sick. Chronic mental illnesses like depression and anxiety are often directly linked to stress, as are physical conditions like high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, insomnia, and obesity, to name just a few from an ever growing list.

If someone were to try to sell you a product you normally buy -- but, they offer you less of the product and at a higher cost -- would you buy it?

Of course you wouldn't. Or would you? In fact, maybe you already have, but just don't realize it. Well, if you've purchased a box of 100-calorie snack packs recently, I'm sorry to say that your mistake cost you. Quite a bit, actually. The Center for Science in the Public Interest recently released some figures on this matter, revealing that consumers are spending a great deal of money for the convenience of pre-packaged portions.

Here's a quick look at how much more some of these 100-packs are actually costing you (based on how much bang you are getting for your buck).

Chex Mix - 248 percent
Goldfish Pretzels - 196 percent
Oreo Cookies/Thin Crisps - 187 percent
Pringles - 163 percent
Doritos - 148 percent
Cheetos - 118 percent

And so on and so forth. (For a look at the entire list, click here).

Frankly, I'm not much of a fan of these 100-calorie snack packs for any reason, price gouging certainly notwithstanding. They offer almost no nutritional value, not to mention that they usually contain a fair amount of sugar and sodium. And, let's face it, how many people actually eat only one of those damn packs? It's very easy to turn 100 into two or three hundred calories, while at the same time spiking blood glucose and insulin levels. Not a good thing if weight loss is your goal. And if saving money is your other goal, there's reason number two not to buy these 100-calorie crap packs.

I, like many fitness professionals around the world, am a huge proponent of drinking lots of water. The benefits are tremendous and should even be considered necessary. What I am not a huge proponent of though, is the need to buy bottled water consistently. Of course some times it is perfectly appropriate to do, and the best choice for the moment. But bottled water shouldn't need to be a staple in your day.

A better choice would be to get yourself a couple of reusable bottles, containers, jugs etc...., and refill them when they're empty. This habit would not only be better for the environment, but better for your wallet! The January/February 2008 issue of Women's Health Magazine reports the savings you could create based on your consumption if you choose to make the switch.

If you buy........you'll save:

• Five bottles a week............$391 a year
• Seven bottles a week........$548 a year
• 10 bottles a week...............$782 a year

Buy your cheese in the dairy aisle and not the deli and you could save up to 30 percent since you're not paying someone to slice it for you. Buy your oranges, onions, and potatoes in the bag and not individually and you'll pay half the price.

Real Simple magazine lists some other supermarket-saving tips in their May 2008 issue. Like this: Purchase your seafood frozen, not fresh, and you'll be 20 to 40 percent richer. Remember this: Most "fresh" fish has been frozen for transport so essentially, both options are very similar.

Buy ground beef and chicken in bulk or in family portion sizes. You'll save about 20 percent on beef and 50 percent on chicken by going this route. And don't buy non-grocery items in a supermarket. Pick up your health and beauty items, for example, at Target or other mass marketers. They're cheaper at these locations.

For a quick lesson in smarter shopping, healthier eating, and better living, visit supermarketguru.com.

You know, I've never been all consumed with American Idol like lots of people. But I must admit I'll tune in here and there throughout the competition. It's decent entertainment, and I kind of think Simon Cowell is sexy. Nonetheless! I just tucked my healthy babies into bed and plopped down into mine with the old laptop to write about fitness with the television on here in my room.

American Idol is in the middle of their Idol Gives Back program, and they seem to be making a great case for helping children in the U.S. and abroad. Feeling fortunate that my two angels do not have to deal with any of the horrors some other children are suffering from.....I logged on to AmericanIdol.com and made a donation. Partly because of guilt, but mostly out of hope.

If you're a lucky parent like me or just someone who loves children, maybe you can call or log on and donate too. 1-877-IDOL-AID or AmericanIdol.com

As it turns out, it isn't worth a pound of cure, according to the Washington Post.

I was more than a little disheartened to read the cover story in the Health section of yesterday's paper. Apparently, as the story points out with examples, an ounce of prevention is worth a whole lot less than a pound of cure despite political campaign banter claiming otherwise. Not even close, in fact. The scales are actually tipped the other way. It's cheaper to let people get sick. Smoking cessation, colonoscopies for guys in their 60s and childhood vaccinations are among exceptions.

The article mentions at the very end a point that I think is bigger than dollars and cents. Paying for good health is an investment. And a good one. I wonder how any attempt to calculate the cost of prevention and measure it up against cure can be absolutely accurate. The examples in the Post are convincing. Giving a bunch of people cholesterol-reducing drugs in an effort to prevent heart disease that will develop in only a fraction of them clearly requires a heap o' dough for prescriptions. But if life is all about how much things cost and that leads to deciding whether our health -- and by extension our very lives -- are worth the expense, what's the point anyway? Have we really reached a point at which money is more valuable than life?

Wow. I think our society needs a colonoscopy. On second thought, we can save the money. I think we can skip ahead to diagnosing cancer. The good news: I believe this type can be cured. What do you think? What's the cure? Am I wrong? Do you disagree with the diagnosis?

I'm a chip in the old stereotype about women and shopping. I loathe shopping with an absolute passion. I hate the crowds, I hate the time it takes weeding through tons of stuff just to find one thing, I hate spending too much money. I will just never understand the draw that so many people have to shopping for hours at a time. But this past Christmas (my first with my adopted son) I had so much fun buying presents for under the tree. Admittedly, I went a bit overboard... but I had such a wonderful time. (I still avoided the crowds, though; I did most of my shopping online.)

A recent study shows that while hikes in income can moderately increase happiness, spending money on others really boosts your mood. Researchers approached the topic in a variety of ways. They surveyed more than 600 people and found that those who spend some money annually on gifts to others and/or donations to charity were generally happier. Additionally, employees who gave some bonus money away in a pro-social manner were also more satisfied.

Buying organic foods at your local grocery store can get pretty pricey, because I know you're filling up a third of your cart with veggies. Right?

Noshtopia has seven ways to cut costs on your organic purchases, which could help your budget, your waistline, and your overall help. Below are the three I found most helpful, but feel free to check out all seven of their suggestions here!

• Hit the local farmers' market. You're buying direct, so it's generally cheaper.
  
• Check store brands in places like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. These businesses often offer a store brand and organic version for similar prices to conventional brand names.
  
• Shop near closing time. Because of the lack of preservatives used in organics, they are often more prone to spoiling. Therefore, grocers might mark those items down near the end of the day to move them off the shelf.

Got a suggestion that's worked for you? Please share in the comments!