That's Fit

Gas prices are skyrocketing. So are food prices. With no relief in sight, it's time we take matters into our own hands by trying to save on food bills -- but without sacrificing nutrition. Here's what TODAY food editor Phil Lempert says we can do to cut costs.

Make lists. Shopping with a list can save 10 percent on unnecessary items, like junk food.

Buy in bulk. Don't buy more than you need -- waste is costly too -- but often, bulk items are priced better.

Go simple. Usually, the more processed the food, the more it costs. It's less healthy too.

Don't buy on impulse. Focus on staples, like milk, eggs, bread, and canned and frozen fruits and veggies. Avoid the tempting goods, like cakes and cookies strategically placed so you can't miss them and those yummy candy bars calling your name in the check-out lines.

Use coupons. Be flexible and plan meals around what's on sale, and you can definitely lower your grocery bill. This may mean switching brands and types of food.

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.

I love my little boys' magazines. Their National Geographic Kids just arrived today and already I'm diving into the good stuff this publication has to offer. Stuff like human footprints.

Every time you eat a snack, ride in a car, or take a shower, you leave a mark on the world -- that's your "human footprint," say the National Geographic experts who go on to offer 10 ways we all affect the Earth. One look at these incredible facts, they say, and we'll realize how using less really can save the planet.

In our lifetime we will:

• Chow down on 5,054 slices of pizza or 632 whole pizza pies.
  
  

• Snack on 14,518 candy bars, enough to fill about 12 shopping carts.
  
  

• Eat an amount of hamburger meat equal to the weight of a family car.
  
  

• Consume 12,888 oranges. A stack of the fruit would be taller than two Eiffel Towers.
  
  

• Throw away enough trash to fill up about five garbage trucks.
  
  

• Own eight microwave ovens, 10 TV sets, and 13 cars.
  
  

• Use more than 1.2 million gallons of water. This would overflow two Olympic-sized swimming pools.
  
  

• Gobble down 9,917 pounds of potatoes. That's the weight of about eight average-size racehorses.
  
  

• Scrub up with 656 bars of soap. If stacked, these bars would stand taller than a five-story building.
  
  

• Drive about 627,000 miles or 25 times around the world, using enough gas to fill three fuel tankers.
  

Clearly, cutting back can save our planet. It many respects, it can also save our waistlines.

When my oldest child's picky-eating nature sends my head spinning, I dump menu planning right in his lap. I figure if he picks the meals, he's likely to eat them. And that's usually how it works. The last time I delegated meal brainstorming to this finicky six-year-old, he chose some pretty good options. Of course, if he veers into junk-food territory, we steer him toward healthier options but overall, he knows what's good for him. And if it's good for him, it's good for us too.

Not only am I recommending you include your stubborn little eaters in mealtime decisions, I also suggest you, or someone in your family, plan meals in advance -- try to stay a week ahead of schedule and you'll save time on daily basis. You're also likely to end up with healthier meals.

Just pick a day of the week -- I say make it Sunday -- and jot down your meal items for the week. Be sure to include lean meats, veggies, fruits, and whole grains and keep to a bare minimum anything with too many calories, fats, and sugars. Then head to the store, stock your cart, and return home and pack that good stuff away. If you're ambitious, you can start prepping your meals ahead of time but at minimum, just get the goods so you're prepared to piece together your dishes on a daily basis.

Want more on this topic? Check out these tips for menu planning from organizedhome.com.

My husband always tells me to take my cell phone when I go outside to exercise. I know his urging makes sense -- what if something happens and I need help? Surely, it would be convenient to make a quick call for assistance, if I'm able to mutter any words, that is. But I rarely take my phone with me. I limit my gear to clothing, shoes, and a MP3 player strapped to my arm. I don't need anything else in the way as I cover ground in my next-door neighborhood. I suppose I should take my hubby's advice, though, and take my phone along for the ride. A Road ID would be even better.

If you're a runner, cyclist, triathlete, or someone prone to bursts of activity, the Road ID may be just the item for you. This athletic accessory not only looks good -- it saves lives. In the event of an accident, if you can't speak for yourself, your Road ID will do all necessary communicating by making your vital information available to first responders via telephone or internet.

The Road ID, priced at $19.99, was created by a father/son team who saw a need -- read their story here -- and are now chasing their dream: To see the day where wearing ID is as common among athletes as wearing a seatbelt is among motorists.

The holidays are both a wonderful and stressful time. It's amazing how the month of December has such a completely different impact on us than does say.........April! It's weird how our culture/society has created such a wild phenomenon where people voluntarily set themselves up to spin out of control. Not only are we spinning, but we plan to spin! Having said that, the fact that you've chosen to read this article means you would really like to avoid ending up dizzy from debt and desserts come January.

You can get through the holidays without sacrificing yourself. Here's how.

• Don't buy things you can't pay for TODAY! Pay cash for gifts, trips and other holiday luxuries. You needn't work the rest of the year to pay off your mistakes this month.
• Don't consume more calories than you can burn off TODAY! Excess caloric intake leads to weight gain, and you shouldn't have to run extra miles the rest of the year to burn off the mistakes you make this month.

I want a personal chef, someone to manage all my nutritional needs and prepare for me all sorts of hearty, healthy, delicious meals. Sadly, I don't have the income to support such a perk in my life. On second thought, maybe I do.

Hiring a professional to cook for you isn't a whole lot different than hiring someone to clean your house or walk the dog, says John Moore, executive director of the United States Personal Chef Association. Contrary to popular belief, personal chefs are not just for the wealthy.

"People don't have personal chefs because they have tons of money," declares Moore. "They have them because it solves a problem: It puts dinner on the table."

When asked why they take the elevator vs. the stairs, most people will tell you they do it to save time. But a recent study done at the University of South Carolina shows that in most cases, this just isn't true -- you'd save more time by taking the stairs. And you'll burn more calories too. Obviously, this doesn't apply if you work or live on the 39th floor, but when it comes to a matter of a few floors, take the stairs.

And if you don't believe the results of this study to be true, it's even more reason to hoof it between floors -- you can test whether it's true or not.

So what's your excuse for not taking the stairs?

There are loads of people out there who do not believe in Global Warming. Or, to be more specific, there are plenty of people out there who do not believe that human beings and all of our nasty, wasteful habits are the cause of the accelerated warming trend that is currently occurring on the planet (after all Earth has heated up and cooled down throughout its existence). Plenty of folks also don't think that this warming will cause the sort of catastrophic events illustrated in Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth".

Whether or not you're a believer, it's a fact that our global home is a fragile place that exists in a delicate balance, and we need to take better care of it. When I say "we" I mean everybody, including kids. As Tanya Ryno at DIY Life mentions, Gore has made his handbook on the subject kid-friendly, offering tips on how your children can help look after the planet. Remember that educated, Earth-conscious kids will become educated, Earth-conscious adults, so now is as good a time as any to help teach your kids healthy, planet-friendly habits.

It's no secret that one of the biggest health problems facing humanity right now is the health of the planet on which we live. Whether or not you believe in global warming (and there are plenty of folks who don't), it is hard to ignore that the Earth is not receiving the kind of treatment from its inhabitants that it rightly deserves.

Many are slow to begin making even small changes like the three R's - reducing, reusing and recycling for those not in the know. Mother Earth has got some pretty big guns on her side though, as loads of incredibly famous celebrities are making sure to do their part and also making sure that people know about it.

While the efforts of a few, or even a few hundred, celebs may not be enough to turn things around, they can certainly generate a bunch of publicity and awareness. And as we all know, what's popular among the beautiful and famous tends to become trendy across the globe pretty quick. So check out this list of stars who are doing their part to save the planet and think of what changes you can make to do yours.

I was listening to radio financial guru Dave Ramsey today, and for a brief moment thought I was listening to myself. No, I'm not a man ... nor do I have so much facial hair. But I could just hear myself in his words. His callers call in and make up all of these excuses on why they've charged a bunch of things on their credit cards, and are now in insane amounts of debt and he goes "duh" and "so what." Then he proceeds to give them an exact solution to get them out of the hole they're in.

I do the same thing. Trillions of people come to me with caloric debt. Meaning ... they give me a tons of excuses why they've consumed more calories than they could burn off and now they're stuck trying to get out of the hole they're in. I go "duh" and "so what." And then I give them the exact solution to get them out of the hole they're in.

There are two things you need to be both successful in fitness and in finance. First you need knowledge. If you don't know what healthy eating legitimately is, and how to exercise to your best advantage you can't succeed. Same goes for money. You need to understand how to avoid debt, deal with purchases, investments, and savings to avoid financial distress.