Sounds impossible, doesn't it? Who in the world ever thought of going to Disney and eating healthy? Crazy talk, right? Wrong! Your loving online Fitzness Expert (me) who has extremely high standards on what I put in both my children's mouth and my own can spend a day at the Magic Kingdom or EPCOT and eat as well as I would in my own home. Disney has made grand efforts to improve the healthfulness of the foods they offer, and has even gone overboard with an abundance of fresh fruit stands located throughout each theme park.

I just spent a week at Walt Disney World in Florida and returned home half a pound less than I was the day before vacation. Want to eat right while enjoying the magic with Mickey Mouse? Read on.

• Mickey makes mealtime easy on the fitness fan. Every restaurant I ventured through offered several menu options based on lean grilled meat, veggies, and/or fruit. Even the children's meals come standard with side items like: grapes, carrot sticks, and unsweetened applesauce. They also come with bottled water or skim milk. Sweet! Parents would have to go out of their way to substitute french fries and soda for their children instead of the healthy stuff. Eww! You the fitness fan, certainly wouldn't do that!
• Sit down dining restaurants offer Egg Beaters cooked without oil in lieu of regular scrambled eggs. I enjoyed this perk while dining with Minnie and Goofy at Disney's Yacht Club Resort.
• Resort dining facilities offer endless refrigerators full of fresh fruit, veggies, yogurt, dried fruit, nutritious snack bars and more.
• Seek out healthier desserts. Anywhere they are served, Disney has made efforts to make reduced fat, low sugar or fresh fruit treats available.

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Although many of us may have that junk food and candy out of sight, we always know where it is. It could be hidden under the bed or way behind in the pantry somewhere.

The thing with 'feeling' hungry has nothing to do sometimes with the hunger signals from your stomach going nuts on their way to the brain. According to experts, everything from stress to hormones to people, places, and situations can kick your appetite into overdrive.

What to do when there are so many forces out to get you? That's where a strategy and willpower come into play. But then again, there are food-based strategies as well, like potatoes (believe that or not). Read on for more.

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One hundred years ago, only 3 million people in this country were aged 65 or older. Today, more than 36 million Americans are in this age group, and that number is expected to grow during the next 25 years to over 70 million as baby boomers age.

Regular physical activity, keeping the mind busy, and a healthy diet are key to healthy aging and physical independence. Not only does it keep the body strong, but keeping the body moving protects and improves your emotional and cognitive health and people who mentally challenge themselves, and stay connected with loved ones are less likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, short-term memory loss, and illness in general. Maintaining a healthy diet keeps the body and mind sharper. Avoid high sodium, sugar, and high fat diets. Stay away from smoking or heavy alcohol use.

Regular walking and aerobic exercise is proven to help manage depression, anxiety, and stress and maintains balance, strength, and flexibility, which are key to preventing injuries and falls. Challenging your intellect on a daily basis by reading, learning a new musical instrument or language, doing crossword puzzles, or playing games of strategy or cards with others will keep the brain active and developing and less likely to lose its power and memory. Eating healthy will maintain your weight, as well as keep a handle on developing diabetic, heart, or colon problems.

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When running for endurance and exercise or getting ready for a big race, putting the right foods in your stomach is just as important as putting miles in your legs. Without a good nutrition to balance training, it can bog down the body and make a runner feel uneasy. That's why The Final Sprint has compiled this very thorough article on optimum nutrition for runners.

The great thing about this report is that it has good information for any level of runner. Whether you're an experienced morning athlete or a novice who gets a workout in after dinner, the nutritional advice can help shed light on the importance of eating the right foods at the right time. First off, don't make the mistake of not getting food before heading out. That's where lack of energy comes from and it can adversely affect performance.

In the morning, try consuming around 500 calories of a low-fat, high-carb food. Followed by half a pint of water, this combo can be all you need if taken two to three hours before working out. Don't forget a post-exercise meal either. Anything with high carbs and protein for muscle replenishment is ideal (pasta, chicken, protein shakes, etc). This is literally the tip of the iceberg, so don't forget to check out the rest of the article for more information!

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It's the most wonderful time of the year for a reason! Many of us take this Christmas holiday as an excuse to pig out and feel no remorse about stuffing our faces with our favorite foods. I know that's how I look at it anyway. But according to the The New England Journal of Medicine, the average weight gain won't be more than a pound or so. The problem comes from the fact that most of us don't shed the extra baggage during the following months, so it turns into a cumulative effect.

However, if you're under the knife about keeping a diet in order or just want to cut back this season, here are some strategies to eat smarter and avoid that extra pound or more altogether. First and foremost, like all things holiday or otherwise, moderation is the key. This is not just a holiday strategy because we've seen this focal point echoed many times before. Excessive eating at any point in the year will give you the same effect, so as the common knowledge suggests, eat in moderation!

The article points out that an appetite can also be the culprit. "Avoid eating smaller-than-normal portions for breakfast and lunch, which may leave you feeling ravenous at dinner and prompt you to eat more than normal," said Doctor Milton Stokes of the American Dietetic Association. Although eating more may not have as much to do with it as the social situation you are in. Some new research indicates that when we are rubbing elbows with friends and family, we're far more likely to eat a greater amount of food. How much, you ask? Forty-four percent more calories are consumed when eating with a group than alone. No wonder we love the company of our friends and family so much!

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