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Exercise physiologist and certified personal trainer Bob Greene has helped millions of people slim down, most recently with his online program TheBestLife.com. The best-selling author shares the sure-fire strategies for losing weight, protecting your health and living your best life.

However, if you work out hard enough (which should be at about 80 percent of your target heart, or vigorously enough that you still could still carry on a conversation during the workout, but would prefer not to) you'll likely burn more calories than you take in -- even if you experience an increase in appetite. And the fitter you are, the longer and harder you can work out, which will further increase your calorie burn not only during the session, but throughout the day as well.
Labor Day Weekend is here, which means that it's time to squeeze in one last barbecue before the summer season officially ends. Make this a get-together to remember by serving creative -- and of course, healthful -- food that your guests will love. Instead of the same old hamburgers and hot dogs, try my grilled salmon recipe. I've been spending the summer in Hawaii, and I have to say, I've gotten hooked on grilled fish! Pair it with a roasted potato salad dish instead of standard fat-laden sides, like macaroni salad, and you'll have a satisfying summer meal that won't sabotage your weight-loss efforts. Check out the recipes for these two great dishes below and enjoy your holiday weekend!

Grilled Salmon (makes four servings)

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound wild salmon fillet
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, including flat parsley, dill, thyme and oregano
• 2 lemons, cut into thin slices

Photo: sxc.hu

What's hiding in your veggie burger? Chances are that if it tastes a lot like a real burger, what's not hiding in your burger is veggies.

Everyone wants their veggie burgers to taste good -- after all, what's the point in eating something if it doesn't? But when it comes to processed food -- and let's be clear, veggie burgers and hot dogs are processed foods -- sometimes making a food taste "good" means taking out the good stuff.

So instead of vegetables, what you might be eating in that burger is a mix of soy, eggs and wheat gluten. An improvement over a Big Mac, sure -- veggie burgers are inherently lower in calories and fat than meat burgers. But if you're a health-conscious veggie burger and hot dog lover, you should take a moment to make sure your favorite barbecue staple is as nutritious as you think.

Forbes has some tips when looking over the label:

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Photo: moreno0101, Flickr

What's cheap, easily available and delicious? Melon! It's in season, which makes it affordable and readily available. And, forget about relinquishing it to a bowl of fruit salad -- melon has a lot more to bring to the table!

First, think about pairings, and go beyond the typical fruit salad combos. Think about prosciutto, avocado, honey and syrups, herbs like tarragon or basil, regular salads or whatever else comes to mind. Could some honeydew add a new flavor to your favorite smoothie? Can you see yourself chilling out with a watermelon-flavored popsicle?

As is often the case, Martha Stewart has the answer. Over at wholeliving.com, you'll find recipes for everything from Watermelon Gazpacho (a soup that combines delicious veggies with juicy watermelon) to Easy Melon Sorbet (a delicious frozen dessert that doesn't require any special tools beyond a food processor).

Got a favorite melon recipe? Or are you a melon purist, believing that melon should only be eaten fresh and on its own?

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Photo: JelleS/Flickr

There's nothing like a summer camping trip -- long, hot days spent hiking or swimming in the lake and cool nights around a campfire. When packing up all the gear for your next camping trip, remember to pack health and nutrition, too. Campfire cooking isn't limited to hot dogs and s'mores. With a little planning and creativity, you can have some delicious and tasty meals that are in keeping with your healthy eating goals:

• Breakfast. Scrambled eggs are a natural on the campfire. Just pack a cast iron skillet and a spatula. Also bring healthy mix-ins like green pepper, onion and mushrooms. Or bake these flaxseed-loaded Morning Glory Muffins ahead of time. Granola also makes a healthy breakfast as well as a handy trail snack. Fruit is also handy and healthy.
  
• Lunch. Bring a softside cooler that's easy to take with you while hiking, boating or touring the local towns. Pack fruits, vegetables, healthful sandwiches on whole wheat and other nutritious foods.
• Dinner. There are plenty of healthy, filling and delicious foods you can cook on your campfire. Try beef kebobs, roasted vegetable fajitas, even baked pears for dessert.

Remember to incorporate lots of physical activity into your camping trips, too. Water skiing, hiking, swimming, volleyball, biking, and other activities are obvious choices. But be sure to check for opportunities that are unique to the area as well, such as climbing sand dunes or going parasailing. Your camping trip won't only be an escape from the every day... it will also be a chance to get fit and healthy.

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Photo: woodleywonderworks/Flickr

Walking around the farmer's market, you might see fresh produce that looks wonderful, yet you don't really know what to do with it. Seasonal cooking is convenient and economical ... what's more, most fruits and vegetables start to lose some of their nutrients, so the fresher they are, the more nutrient-dense they're likely to be. And fresh from the vine (or plant, or dirt, as the case may be) produce just simply tastes great.

Cooking Light has helpful information about selecting and preparing summer produce. Some highlights:

• Eggplant. Look for firm, heavy eggplants with smooth, shiny skin. Eggplant is delicious grilled and is also suitable for stuffing.
• Avocado. A great source of vitamins, minerals and monounsaturated fat, avocados are a great addition to your diet. They're delicious on their own or sliced on sandwiches or salads. Also check out the recipes for chilled avocado soup and chicken/avocado tacos.
• Yellow squash and zucchini. These versatile veggies are perfect additions to a shish-ke-bob. You can also try a yellow squash gratin or adding zucchini to pasta dishes. Cooking Light has many other suggestions as well.

For more ideas, read up on celeriac and be sure to read Bev's post about shopping smart at farmer's markets.

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Herbs, seasonings and spices can be your best friends when you're trying to cook healthfully. They add tons of flavor without upping the calorie or fat content.

"Fitness Magazine" has seven great spicy recipes that will fit into your healthy lifestyle. Their Hearty Beef Chili recipe is jazzed up with some smoky cumin and it gets its heat from chipotle chili pepper, Thai Pork Stir Fry gets a kick from curry, and fresh ginger flavors the Chicken with Rice Noodles.

All those seasonings and spices can really add up when you buy them at the grocery store. Consider buying them from a health food store instead; you can usually buy just what you need. Also, whole spices tend to have more flavor, so grind your own when possible. To get the most life out of your spices, keep them in air-tight containers in a cool, dry space, preferably away from light.

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I was making out a grocery list the other day and realized we were almost out of peanut butter. We don't make many peanut butter sandwiches around here, but celery with peanut butter is one of my son's favorite snacks. Even though I know most major brands of peanut butter aren't on the growing list of recalled peanut products, I have to admit that I paused. The whole salmonella scare is enough to put a person off peanut butter entirely.

Planet Green has a great solution; make your own peanut butter. Not only does DIY peanut butter eliminate any worries about salmonella, it also means you control the ingredients -- there's no partially hydrogenated oil in sight! All you'll need is shelled and skinned roasted peanuts, honey, sea salt and peanut oil. Homemade peanut butter lasts about two months when sealed in an airtight container.

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After the low-fat craze, some people are still afraid to eat anything that's fatty. But the key is finding the good fats.

Nuts are a great source of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats -- two fats that actually benefit your health. The problem? It's easy to go overboard when snacking on munchable, yummy nuts. Though they're rich in healthy fats, nuts are still high in calories. So it's important to be reasonable when snacking.

For another alternative -- and one that's hard to go overboard on -- try nut-based sauces for poultry, fish and vegetables. This week, The New York Times will feature a series of recipes for nut-based sauces. Check them out -- and try them out too.

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Between all the crazy things people deep fry and Paula Deen's Brunch Burgers, I thought I had heard it all. But the bacon explosion takes me to a new level of disgusted.

To make the bacon explosion (which could also be called the "heart attack on a plate"), you weave together strips of raw bacon and sprinkle it with barbecue seasoning. Then cover the bacon with a layer of sausage and sprinkle with crumbled, cooked bacon. Roll it all up, sprinkle with more seasoning, and grill.

The Examiner estimates that the whole thing adds up to around 5,000 calories and 500 grams of fat (much of which is saturated fat). That is one recipe to stay far away from. If you're looking for some savory treats for Super Bowl Sunday, try some of these skinny Super Bowl recipes, instead.

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Hi, there! I'm Kim and I'm one of the editors over at AOL Health. I've been covering diet and fitness for years, which means I've read and reported on more health studies, weight-loss plans and exercise tips than I can count. So with all that info in my brain you'd probably imagine I'm some sort of gym nut who's a size two and lives on grilled chicken, steamed veggies and oatmeal. While I'd just love to say I'm a size two and practice everything I preach, I'm like most of you: I truly care about my health (and fitting into my jeans!), but love a good slice of pizza (and glass of red wine) and struggle to carve out time for workouts.

What I'd like to share with you guys is how I take all the information that lands on my desk and squeeze it into my own busy life. Whether it's a great new bit of advice I've gotten from a nutritionist, a 20-minute workout I'm currently jamming into my morning, or a weight-loss trick that's working for me.

First up, how I plan not to blow my diet on Super Bowl Sunday.

Now, I couldn't care less about football, but I love me some wings -- and nachos, and beer and ... well, you get the picture. So I called up Tanya Zuckerbot, MS, RD, founder of SkinnyandtheCity.com (a really fun site, BTW) and author of The F-Factor Diet, to see if she could makeover a few classic Super Bowl dishes so I can get my fix and still fit into pants on Monday morning. Here are her tasty and healthy recipes:

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The beauty of a "before" picture is that it allows you to really appreciate how far you've come. Not there yet? Are you walking around in the body you'll one day refer to as your "before"? Watch this video and get a move on. Life is too short to spend one extra second in your "before" body. Pay close attention, take action and zoom on into your "after" body.

For fabulous cooking tips, creative workouts and more fun quick information from degreed experts in health and fitness, visit SportsHealthExercise.org.

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Even if you're not all that interested in football, I'm willing to bet you've attended a SuperBowl party or two. I mean, why not -- it's a chance to socialize and get rowdy with your friends, and it's a free pass to eat junk and chug beer. Oh, wait. Actually, it's not.

I don't mean that you have to munch on celery sticks and drink water all game -- after all, this is a party. However, you have plenty of healthful options, and Weight Watchers has some tips for helping you be a winner this SuperBowl.

Check out the gallery for some quarter by quarter suggestions as well as a delicious sounding recipe from the Weight Watchers Cookbook. Got a healthful recipe you plan to use? Share it in the comments!

Do you have a few minutes to waste? I know, I know ... you're busy. But everyone deserves a few minutes just to relax, right?

Check out this new game on Shockwave.com. The Wonder-Juice Machine is a fun way to give your brain a little challenge. A minor mental workout like this is a great way to take your mind off of your troubles for a few minutes and relieve a little stress.

As as added perk, the game includes actual recipes for nutritious smoothies that you can try at home. And keep your eye out for the health tips about different fruits and vegetables. Who knew a game could include such handy health advice?

Oh, how I miss my local farmer's market. When I go shopping at the local grocery store, the produce department is kind of depressing. The other day the bell peppers were wrinkled and just begging to be put out of their misery. But carrots ... carrots are the ultimate fighting champion of the vegetable world. They look good all year long.

Carrots are a frequent snack at my house. We also steam them as a side dish and dice up the leftover steamed carrots to add to rice the next day.

The New York Times has two great recipes for another carrot side dish. Both grated carrot salad varieties sound utterly tasty. The curry-laced salad is going to be showing up on my dinner table soon.

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A lot has been said about President-elect Barack Obama's love of food. He's got favorite restaurants all over Chicago -- both chichi gourmet hot spots and local greasy spoons. But his favorite meal to cook at home is rumored to be chili.

Chili is the perfect comfort food, especially in these frigid winter temperatures. But as much as he loves food, Barack Obama is also committed to diet and fitness. I mean, who couldn't notice that when those shirtless pics from Hawaii popped up?

Our future Mr. President will probably be too busy in the next 100 days to cook up a pot of chili, but if you're in the mood for a bowl of Barack Obama's favorite food, here are some tips for making this spicy dish a little healthier.

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