That's Fit

The human foot wasn't designed for shoes, and believe it or not most of the shoes we wear (even the athletic ones!) are actually doing more harm than good.

Turn your social network (and what many people consider a bad habit or even an addiction) into something positive and motivational: Twitter your way to weight loss!

Sometimes I don't know which one is worse: dealing with the bugs or dealing with the greasy, smelly, full-of-toxic-chemicals bug repellent! Thankfully there are natural ways to cope.

Ever hit the sack without washing your face? You might want to rethink your habits.

Want to be the best calorie-burning machine you can be? Just follow these five tips from Natural Health:

Because they spend most of their time on the floor, exercise mats are rarely cleaned as often as they should be -- when is the last time you gave yours more than just a good shake on the back step? It's probably due for a scrub!

Lightly soiled
Make a solution of four drops of dish soap to two cups of water and wash dirty areas with a spray bottle, cloth, or sponge. Rinse with plain water and air dry.

Heavily soiled
Submerge the mat in warm water with just a touch of mild detergent (using too much could leave the mat slippery and dangerous in the future). Hand wash, rinse in plain water, and hang to air dry. If squeezing doesn't get enough water out of the mat, try rolling it up with a towel and stepping on it before separating the two and hanging the mat to dry.

Feeling and looking like a superstar starts with eating superstar foods and when it comes to summer salads, you might know that veggies are good for you but do you know which ones are the best? In terms of antioxidant levels there are five veggies that stand out from the rest and you'll want to be sure to throw as many of them as you can in your salads this summer. Which veggie do you think is the absolute richest in antioxidants?

Although getting good sleep should be at the top of everybody's daily "to do" list for good health and good looks, there are always going to be those days when you didn't get enough and you're really dragging. And as if a day like that isn't hard enough to get through, nothing makes it worse than having people telling you all day how tired you look. So the answer? Don't look tired.

Exercise! Overnight during sleep your body increases microcirculation to the skin to refresh and revive it by delivering essential nutrients. If you're shorted on sleep, though, you can help boost circulation with a quick morning workout.

Teabags Puffy eyes and dark circles happen when the body can't restore vascular tone during sleep and fluid accumulates. Putting a used, cool, green tea bag on/under each eye for a few minutes in the morning will help shrink blood vessels, drain fluid, and even fight inflammation.

Meditation Not getting enough sleep can create stress, or make current stress worse, which in turn increases your body's production of cortisol. Cortisol is linked to skin inflammation issues like acne and eczema. Meditation, however, can help your body fall into a state of deep rest -- which in turn might help curb some cortisol production.

I've learned a lot about diet and nutrition over the past year. Still, I'm sometimes confused by food labels. Drawn to any product slapped with a health claim, I often wonder how good certain foods are for me. How low-fat is a low-fat item, for example? How trans-fat free is a trans-fat free treat? What exactly does it mean if my cereal box comes marked with a red heart and a white check mark?

Woman's Day magazine recently published a chart to help me decode label lingo. See if this helps you too.

"May reduce the risk of heart disease" or "Helps lower cholesterol"
The FDA says if eaten regularly as part of an overall healthy diet, this food may help prevent heart disease and/or lower LDL cholesterol. This labeling is usually found on produce and foods rich in whole grains, soluble fiber, soy protein, and/or plant sterols or stanols.

A red heart with a white check mark
The American Heart Association certifies that this item is low in cholesterol, total fat, saturated fat, and trans fat. It has less than 480 mg of sodium and naturally contains at least 10 percent of the daily value for vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, protein, or fiber.

A yellow and black "whole grain" icon that looks like a postage stamp
The Whole Grains Council verifies that this product has at least eight g of whole grains in 1/2 serving. If the stamp reads "100 percent whole grain," then it has at least 16 g of whole grains in one full serving. Three daily servings of whole grains are recommended.

"Low Sodium"
Low sodium foods have fewer than 140 mg per serving.

"Low Fat"
This one has less than three g of fat per serving.

"Low Saturated Fat"
Items touted as low in saturated fat have fewer than one g and less than 15 percent of calories from saturated fat per serving

"Low Cholesterol"
Fewer than 20 mg of cholesterol per serving.

"Trans Fat Free"
Fewer than 0.5 g trans fat per serving.

Did you know that Americans throw away an average of 25% of the produce they buy? A half a pound every day. That's a lot of money going down the drain, not to mention all the wasted nutrients, vitamins, antioxidants and the strain on the environment. Plus how are you supposed to motivate yourself to eat more fresh fruits and veggies when they're all smelly and sludgy in the bottom of your fridge?

The biggest reasons people toss so much produce are, thankfully, pretty easy to remedy: it happens because we're either storing it wrong or because we're buying too much at once and can't eat it fast enough. So make a better grocery list and only buy what you're going to be able to eat in the next few days, and learn how to keep it so it stays fresh as long as possible. For storage tips check out this article on Vegetarian Times -- it's chock full of awesome advice.

You've hear it before: Eat smaller portions. Use smaller plates. A little friendly reminder never hurt, though, and to drive these points home, consider this: A muffin once weighed 1.5 ounces and housed about 210 calories. Today's muffin is not so dainty with its hefty four ounces and 500 calories. I know. I know. I ate a pumpkin muffin recently and was appalled at what actually went into my body.

The point here, according to the Publix Greenwise magazine is that everything, from bagels to burgers, is ballooning in size. So are our waistlines. It's more important than ever then to watch ourselves. Watching how we distribute the food on our plates is a good starting point. So start with a nine-inch plate and proceed as follows.

Divide your plate into quarters. In three of your quarters, pile on the whole grains, the veggies, the fruit. Fill the remaining quarter with lean meat, fish, or poultry. That's it. The smaller plate, dominated by plant-based foods, is key for keeping calories in check. Simple stuff, right?

Pancakes are a breakfast "staple" food that most of us try to avoid because they are usually full of nothing but sugar, fat, and carbs. But if you're not afraid to do a little experimenting, finding a healthier pancake recipe that still satisfies the 'comfort food' factor and tastes good is not that hard. The good thing about pancakes is that their basic formula leaves a lot of room to substitute ingredients and add things in to make them a smarter option.

Tips for a healthier pancake:

• Substitute whole wheat flour for white flour for a fiber boost.
  
• Add in fresh blueberries, pumpkin, or grated apples for valuable antioxidants.
  
• Use less sugar and add in some sweet-tasting spices like vanilla, cinnamon, and/or nutmeg
• Top with fresh fruit, yogurt, or jam instead of syrup.

I took my boys strawberry picking on Friday. We go every year. Each time, the experience gets better. When my guys were toddlers, it was a pretty daunting excursion -- think wobbly steps, sunscreen, smashed berries, dirty clothing, whining, crying, and more. Still, it was worth the headache. The sight of little fingers manipulating the fruit of the Earth was beautiful. It still is -- the fingers are just bigger and more skilled at their work. The steps are solid and purposeful. Few berries are sacrificed. And whining and crying are non-existent. The sunscreen and dirty clothing are still issues we contend with but are never a deal breaker.

Seven-year-old Joey and four-year-old Danny were in heaven walking the strawberry fields the other day. Armed with their very own buckets, they plucked perfect red berries, one by one, from the ground. "Look at this one," they'd exclaim, comparing their finds with one another. They were amazed by every strawberry they dropped in their buckets and kept picking until they could hold no more. They yielded way too many berries but I just couldn't make them stop. Happy boys, marveling at nature while collecting nutritious food, are just too hard to come by. I let them go overboard. The loved it.

Twenty-four dollars worth of strawberries sit in our kitchen. We've already made a pretty good dent in our supply, and we've delivered a few berry bags to some neighbors. Blueberries will be our next conquest. I can't wait.

Have you ever gone picking? If not and you'd like too -- I highly recommend it -- just visit www.pickyourown.org and you're sure to find some farms in your area.

Anemia is a fairly common condition, and because it has such sneaky symptoms (fatigue, inability to concentrate, pale skin) all too often it goes undiagnosed. Although eating a balanced healthy diet is a good start, if you're prone to anemia you might have to make some more conscious choices in regards to what you eat and what you don't. You'll want to make a point to both get lots of iron-rich foods (legumes, leafy greens, whole grains) while making a point to not always eat them at the same time as iron-blocking foods (dairy products, egg whites, coffee/tea). It's also a good idea to talk with your doctor about supplements and a blood test to see exactly where you're at.

Of course there's a lot more to fighting anemia than simply eating your veggies separately from your coffee and popping a pill with breakfast -- you can find more advice here (plus if you have any concerns never hesitate to ask your doctor!).

I wasn't sure what my physical therapist meant when she told me to "zip it up" as I was exhaling during an ab exercise. So she explained: Suck in your stomach just like you would if zipping really tight jeans. Aha. We all know how that feels, right? My exercise suddenly became easier.

Here it is, a little something designed to strengthen the lower transversus abs.

• Lie on your back.
  
  

• Place hands on your lower abdomen.
  
  

• Inhale and feel your abdomen expand. Your tummy should pushed out and full of air.
  
  

• Exhale as you pull your lower abdominals in, just like you would when zipping tight pants. The more forcefully you exhale, the stronger the transversus abdominus contraction.
  
  

Do 10 to 15 reps twice daily and before you know it, those tight jeans won't be so tight.