That's Fit

'I'll take you on vacation if you quit smoking,' I told Jon a few months ago. An incredibly stressful situation at work lead to him taking up the habit again, much to my chagrin. And I've been doing what I can to get him to quit again, but to no avail. 'Thanks, but I have to do it for myself if it's going to last.' he tells me.

And the infuriating thing about it all? He's completely right. According to recent research, bribing smokers with incentives and prizes if they quit doesn't work, especially in the long run. So what does work? Social support, buddy systems and nicotine replacement therapies all have better success rates.

What made you quit? Or what's kept you from quitting?

The fitness equipment, apparel and boxing giant Everlast was so impressed with our That's Fit Fitzness Fiends that they're ready to start rewarding people. Not only am I, your loving online fitness trainer, proud of you all, but Everlast is proud of you too!

For the next two months (at minimum), Everlast will be rewarding an Everlast Fitzness Fiend of the Week with one of their hot new tank tops from their Spring collection. They're absolutely gorgeous, totally comfy, and of ridiculously high quality.

I'm thrilled with the grand response from those of you who've already participated as a Fiend, and even more excited to meet the rest of you!Presents aside, the Fitzness Fiend feature is a great way to share much that you've learned on your way to becoming more fit. We've all ventured down so many paths to better health, it'd be a sin not to share our secrets and successes with others!

Congratulations to our Everlast Fitzness Fiend of the Week, Laurie! Laurie has lost an amazing 104 pounds! Because of her efforts, Everlast is dying to reward her with one of their beautiful ribbed tank tops from their Spring Collection to keep her looking gorgeous while she takes her fitness training even further. Can you imagine how amazing it would feel to have lost a whopping 100 pounds (and more)? It must have taken lots of sweat, lots of focus at meal time, and lots of perseverance when she hit plateaus. I'm so proud, Laurie! Hooray for you!

Maybe you'd like to win a smokin' tank from the Big E too? Wouldn't it be nice to be rewarded for your efforts every now and then? I think you should be. I think you should be my next Everlast Fitzness Fiend of the Week! ....

A trio of stem cell researchers has won the Nobel Prize for medicine according to Sweden's Karolinska's Institute.

The three researchers won the coveted prize for their collective work on gene changes in mice using embryonic cells, and they shared the $1.54 million prize as a result.

The discoveries made by the trio were said to have created the field of "gene targeting" -- meaning that certain genes were able to be turned off to allow scientists control and define roles of individual genes.

The Swedish Institute said that almost every aspect of mammal physiology can be studied by gene targeting -- which, taken as that, sounds quite revolutionary. We must be getting closer to the day when not only is the human genome mapped, but completely understood.