That's Fit

I didn't go outside once today, and I'm really disappointed about that. How dare I let a beautiful, sunny, summer day go by without at least getting a few minutes of sunshine on my face? It's not something that happens very often, but obligations kept me inside and out of the summertime sun.

Where I live, summer weather is a short-lived and precious thing, so normally we spend every second we can out in it. But in today's modern and comfortable world, it can be way too easy to just stay in, where there are no bugs and no need for sunscreen.

Not only is vitamin D important, but so are the mood lifting benefits of getting outside and enjoying what nature has to offer. If you find yourself hanging around indoors a little too often this summer, take a look at Real Simple's 7 ways to spend more time outside.

It doesn't seem quite fair -- summer is when everyone is having the fun parties, and you want to look your most gorgeous, but between the sun and heat and humidity, it's hard to convince your hair to do what you want it to do.

That doesn't mean you're forever confined to bad summertime hair, though -- we've got some tips (partly thanks to our friends at Fitness Magazine) to help you get the most out of your 'do this summer. Check them out, and be sure to let us know about your best summertime hair trick or product in the comments!

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Dear Fitz, I love the summer weather, and really want to use the large outdoor pool at my gym. I do water walking and swim a couple of laps, but then I get so bored! Swimming 20 laps in a row is not fun for me. I'm pretty sure swimming burns a lot of calories, which is my goal. Help! Deanna

A. Hi Deanna, I'm so excited to help you, cause I too love the benefits of training in the water. We always hear that it's a terrific workout for those who want to avoid trauma from high impact activities. It also happens to be a fantastic workout for those who want to burn a massive amount of calories! Quick personal story. About eight years ago, while in the midst of a competitive kickboxing career, I tore my right hamstring. This made it impossible for me to do almost any sort of activity that involved any sort of impact. I also happened to be about 5% body fat at the time. I thought there was no way in the world that I could lose another pound. At 5'6" and 114 pounds, I was sitting on my bones. Having said that ... after swimming most nights for three weeks I actually lost three pounds. I was sold! Swimming is awesome exercise!

As people sit down to enjoy July 4th cookouts this weekend, they're sure to find a slice of watermelon on their dinner plates. Watermelon is the perfect summer fruit -- sweet, juicy, and refreshing. Not only is watermelon a great hot weather taste, however, it's also amazingly good for you.

Among its many phytonutrients, naturally occurring compounds that interact with the body to improve health, is one called citrulline. Researchers are just getting to know this particular nutrient, but what they've discovered is that it can give your body a boost, in more way than one.

Citrulline increases nitric oxide levels in the body, which opens up the blood vessels, just like Viagra, they say. Though researchers also say that citrulline isn't "organ specific" like Viagra, it does increase circulation body-wide. Seems like a good enough reason to try a slice, doesn't it?

Summer is the perfect time for hot dogs at the family BBQ, big pretzels at the county fair, and cold treats straight from the ice cream truck. Although these foods can be less-than-perfect options for our kids who love them so -- think lots of salt, sugar, and fat -- WedMD says they can be not so bad, really. Check them out.

• Nachos & Quesadillas
• Hamburgers & Hot Dogs
• Ice Cream
• Frozen Yogurt
• Waffles and pancakes
• Marshmallows
• Popcorn
• Watermelon
  
  

Hot dogs? Healthy? I never thought so. Try light and reduced-fat dogs and you'll be OK, says Sarah Krieger, an American Dietetic Association (ADA) spokeswoman.

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.

With summer comes swing sets. So get those kids outdoors for some fresh air and physical activity -- let them slide, swing, jump, and climb. Just make sure they're safe as they scoot up and down and all around. Don't know where to begin? The U.S. National Safety Council offers these tips for securing your back yard play things.

• Make sure your equipment is very sturdy.
• Look for sets that can be changed or upgraded to accommodate your child's growth.
• Secure the legs of the set in below-ground concrete. Got anchors that came with the set? Keep them below ground.
  
• Make sure all cables are taut. Cap any screws or bolts.
• Be sure your slide has no more than a 30-degree slope. Your slide must have tall sides to prevent falls, and an area at the bottom where children can regain balance and sit upright.
• Avoid sets with "S" hooks or parts that can pinch, cut, or crush small fingers.
  
• Avoid rings that are less than five inches or greater than 10 inches in diameter.
• Equipment should not be higher than eight feet tall.
  
• Be careful with metal equipment. It can lead to burns when used in hot weather.

My five year old daughter's beautiful light blond hair has turned the most not-so-beautiful shade of green. Ugh! We swim a lot. We live in Florida, and that's what we do almost every day during the summer. Her hair has been pretty green for about two weeks now, and for about the same amount of time I've been looking for the special swimming shampoo that's supposed to get the green out. I checked three pharmacies, one Walmart, and two grocery stores with no success. How frustrating!

Fortunately, today I stumbled across the ultimate score in 'get the green out' shampoos at Target.. Suave has a cute little kids line of hair and body products that are tear-free, smell great, and sell for less than two dollars. And! They've recently added a special shampoo to the line which is designed to remove chlorine from cute little heads of green hair. It's called Suave Swim and Sport Flippin' Citrus 2 in 1 Shampoo for Kids. We've already used it, and we love it! So....if you are Going Green in a way that has nothing to do with the environment......give this stuff a try!

With so much emphasis placed on summer fitness, I can't help but wonder why the other three seasons are apparently considered slack-off time.

Frankly, they shouldn't be, and not just because you need those months to prepare your body for when beach season rolls around. Being healthy means more than fitting into a particular bathing suit or rocking head-turning abs on the boardwalk; it involves a year-round dedication to a healthy diet and exercise program. Letting your weight yo-yo in what you consider to be the "off season" will not only make the more vanity-based goals that much more difficult to accomplish, it can also be quite detrimental to your overall health.

Researchers from Finland found that seasonal weight fluctuations can increase your risk of metabolic syndrome by a whopping 46 percent. Metabolic syndrome -- although not an actual disease itself, but a collection of risk factors -- boosts a person's chances of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and myriad other diseases and ailments. In short, metabolic syndrome is no day at the beach.

If you're like me, you've spent many days in either the pool or an ocean this summer. When I hit the water with my family, my purpose is to have physical fun. We're not the type to loaf on a chair, hoping to earn a few extra wrinkles before we call it a day. Heck no! We move! We play, we swim, we chase and more. Having said that ... I have two teeny kiddies and that's what I'm supposed to be doing.

Adults however, are entitled to play, chase, and move near or in the water too! Why the heck not? A warm summer breeze offers a great opportunity to feel strong, energized, and in good touch with our bodies. Women's Health magazine offers a bunch of cool yoga exercises to do at the beach. I like them, I really do. And as your adoring online Fitzness Trainer, I recommend you give them a try.

"Mom, come here," my five-year-old Danny said to me the other day after summer school. "I have an exercise to show you." Clearly, I went running to see what my littlest guy had in his fitness bag of tricks. "You lie down," he said. "And cross your arms like this (across the chest)." Then he told me to sit "criss-cross-applesauce" -- that's elementary school speak for sitting with your legs crossed. He wanted me to sit on his feet so they wouldn't budge. So I did. And here's what he did: A sit-up. A perfect, so-very-cute sit-up.

Danny did four sit-ups and was so proud of himself when he finished. We exchanged high fives, and he moved on.

Danny and his older brother are spending three hours each morning during June in a summer enrichment program where they're learning a little, playing a lot, and reporting to PE class every day. Every day. I love it. During the school year, they go once per week for 40 minutes. This summer schedule is going to spoil me -- and them too. They love their gym time. Joey has been practicing new stretches, they both have been demonstrating "crab crawls," they're learning to do pull-ups, and now sit-ups are coming home. Thanks to "coach," who is teaching my boys their new moves, summer school is tops.

If you're looking to make this summer your best one yet, making smart choices about your health and wellness will undoubtedly help.

Going swimming in shark infested waters while sporting a gaping wound? Not a smart choice. Keeping yourself active with regular runs on the beach or hikes up a trail? Now you're using your head. Here are five other tips to make sure your summer leaves you with a sunny disposition.

1. Stress Less. Use the summer calm to soothe your nerves a bit. All that stress can contribute to an excessive release of the hormone cortisol, increasing your risk of a myriad of diseases.

2. Get Some Sleep. Enjoy a peaceful night's sleep as often as possible as the gentle summer breeze blows through your curtains. Aim for 7 to 8 hours each night, as a routine failure to do so increases your risk of type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

I just made summer journals for my boys. Well, I bought the journals and made them summery by decorating them for the season. I put a photograph of each boy on the front and labeled the books, "Danny's Summer Journal, 2008" and "Joey's Summer Journal 2008." My intention is to keep these books in the car so that wherever the summer takes us, we can plop down and write and draw about our journeys. The other day, we went to the library, collected a stack of books, and then got cozy outside amongst the grass and trees. Once settled, we read a book and then my guys drew a picture about the story they'd heard. Seven-year-old Joey drew a badger, a character in the book, and five- year-old Danny drew an alligator. There were no gators in our story but imaginations are always welcome during summer journaling.

I have high hopes for our summer journals. I envision them as instrumental in keeping my boys' minds sharp during non-school days, I love that we'll have a record of all that we accomplish over the next few months, and I can't wait to look back years from now at the scribbles that will fill the pages.

How about creating our own summer journal? Make it about diet and fitness and you can follow a similar path. You can keep your goals sharp, record all that you accomplish over the next few months, and look back years from now and chart your progress -- or your limitations. Grab a notebook, a stack of paper, or decorate a fancy book full of blank pages. The format doesn't matter -- the journaling does. Jot down what you eat and how much you exercise. Chart your calories, your weight, the miles you log and the weights you lift. Document your successes, your frustrations, your best intentions. Try it for the summer and see what happens. That's what I'm doing. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Want more on how to keep a food journal? Click here. And exercise journaling -- here.

Instead of spending the summer lying like a frying fish next to the pool ... jump in! Cool off, get moving, and earn yourself a body worthy of that hot bathing suit you've been dreaming of. If you're a parent, get your butt in pool and get your kids involved as well. Family fitness should be fun and Women's Health has a great series of exercises you can do alone or all together. Don't forget your sunblock!