Next time you end up dripping after a workout, think about this: All that perspiration is crucial to healthy physical functioning.

As your body’s primary mechanism for eliminating heat, sweating keeps your internal (core) temperature as constant as possible.

Sweat consists primarily of water, which comes from your blood, and other trace substances, including sodium chloride, potassium, lactic acid and ammonia.

These minerals (known as electrolytes) help regulate blood pressure and water balance.

Physical conditioning, age, ethnicity, gender and climate all affect the amount you sweat. Sedentary people may sweat anywhere from practically nothing to two quarts a day, while heat and/or exertion can increase daily sweat output to as much as five to eight quarts.

In general, sweat gland activity decreases with age — one reason why older people tolerate heat less well and should be careful in hotter weather.

While women usually sweat less and store more heat than men, research shows that women and men in equivalent physical condition tolerate heat equally well.

In fact, cardiovascular fitness is one of the most important factors in heat tolerance.

Is sweating a good measure of your athletic performance? Research shows that when you increase stamina and conditioning, you begin to sweat “more efficiently,” i.e. earlier, or at a lower internal temperature, than previously.

Exercise physiologists who study the effects of exercise on weight loss, have determined that the "jiggling" or shaking of excess body fat when someone walks fast or jogs, in combination with the muscle contractions involved in that activity, causes weight loss. I call it the "jiggle effect."

This effect is caused by chemical messengers in the body in response to the jiggle and muscle contractions. They say, "Hey body, this person needs to be able to move more efficiently. Let's get rid of some of this fat." So, above and beyond the normal caloric expenditure of that activity, these chemical messengers cause fat loss to happen more easily.

So, how can you take advantage of the jiggle effect? The more you jiggle, and the more intense the muscle contractions, the more pronounced the effect. Thus, faster walking is better than slower walking, and a slow jog is better than a fast walk. A good way to incorporate this into your aerobic exercise is to use intervals.

As you may know, I believe in making intervals a major part of your aerobic exercise sessions. I've received lots of encouraging feedback from my subscribers who have been very successful with interval training. Here are a few of the messages.

"Greg, thanks for all your help. I took your advice and started using intervals in my walking sessions. Woooooo! The results have been dramatic. First of all in the way I feel. I have never really felt good after exercise, but now I think I'm getting that "high" thing. I feel fantastic. I am so much more energetic all day long now.

"I had been struggling at a weight loss plateau but this got me over it and I'm consistently losing two to three pounds a week. Thanks for turning me on to this."

"Hello Greg, I read on your site about intervals and decided to give it a try. I really can't believe how different my exercise is now.

I have much more muscle tone, and I know this sounds crazy, but some weeks my weight loss just seems to take off. I love this!"

"Greg, about three months ago I started doing intervals as you suggested and I actually look forward to exercise now. It makes the time pass quickly and I really feel pumped when I finish. Thanks for the recommendation."

I receive a few messages similar to these every week. Are you ready to give intervals a try? Here's how to get started:

Intervals are brief periods (about one minute) of more intense exercise mixed into your regular aerobic exercise sessions. For example, if you're walking, you would do a one minute interval of faster walking about every five minutes throughout your exercise session.

You'll start with your normal three to five minute warm-up and then five minutes into your workout you do your first interval, one minute of faster walking (or perhaps jogging). At the end of that minute you should be "winded" and ready to slow down. You'll slow down to your normal exercising speed for the next four minutes and then your fifth minute is another one minute interval. This pattern continues throughout your exercise session.

You'll derive several benefits from intervals.

1. Intervals can help you get past a weight loss plateau.

2. Intervals increase your aerobic fitness level by "pushing the envelope". While doing your interval you cross the anaerobic threshold into anaerobic metabolism, forcing your body to become conditioned to more intense exercise.

3. Your increased level of fitness means that a given level of exercise will feel easier and that you will be able to exercise at a higher intensity which "burns" more calories.

4. Your increased level of fitness also means that you will be less fatigued from daily activities and you'll have more energy throughout the day.

5. Intervals increase your basal metabolic rate (BMR), causing you to burn more calories 24 hours a day.

6. Intervals cause you to burn more calories during your exercise session and for several hours afterwards.

7. Intervals will tone the involved muscles to a greater degree than your regular aerobic exercise would.

8. Intervals can make your exercise less monotonous and help the time pass more quickly.

9. Intervals will energize you!

10. Intervals will activate the "jiggle affect."

If you'd like to put a little excitement into your exercise, and you're looking for better results, give intervals, and "jiggling" a try!

After surveying more than 150,000 adults, Michigan researchers found that only three percent said they maintained these healthy habits.

Lead author Dr. Mathew J. Reeves of Michigan State University in East Lansing told Reuters Health he expected that a minority of adults would keep up all habits, "but three percent was really quite surprising."

He explained that there are probably a number of reasons why the vast majority of Americans don't follow their doctors' orders. People are busy, live in environments more conducive to driving everywhere than walking or biking, and may lack information about the dangers of unhealthy habits, Reeves suggested.

But likely the biggest reason is the "current cultural norm" to live unhealthy lives, he said. "If most people around you are overweight, and don't exercise and eat mostly fast food, then it's very hard to see the need to change the way you are living," Reeves noted.

To investigate how healthy Americans are, Reeves and his co-author Dr. Ann P. Rafferty reviewed data collected from 153,000 adults as part of a telephone survey.

The researchers noted how many people didn't smoke, ate at least five fruits and vegetables every day, exercised for at least 30 minutes five or more times per week, and had a healthy body mass index (BMI), defined as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. A healthy BMI is between 18.5 and 25.

Among the surveyed adults, 76 percent didn't smoke and 40 percent had maintained a healthy weight.

However, less than one quarter ate at least five fruits and vegetables daily, or exercised on a regular basis.

Altogether, only three percent of surveyed adults maintained all four of these healthy habits, the authors report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Reeves said that research shows being healthy can add years to your life, slash medical expenses, cut your risk of heart disease, and generally improve your quality of life.

"It really does matter that so many people are not taking the most basic steps to leading a healthy lifestyle," he said. "We should be aware of what we are giving up."

SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, April 25, 2005.

How many times have you wished that you could swallow a pill and wake up in the morning thinner? It would be really nice if such a pill existed, but it doesn’t. So, with that in mind, what can we do for quick, easy and sure weight loss?

1. Drink 64+ ounces of water each and every day.

2. Get cardio exercise EVERY day; gradually building to the point where you get a minimum of 30 minutes a day.

3. Add fresh raw fruits and vegetables to your daily diet.

4. Limit the “bulky” carbs: white flour, potatoes, cereal, etc.

5. Identify the biggest obstacle you consistently face that stymies your weight loss and overcome it, rid yourself of it and banish it from your life forever!

Sound too hard? Seem impossible?

It isn’t. The above mentioned 5 tips are really nothing more than a recipe for healthful living. You aren’t food combining impaired. You aren’t willpower deficient. Your weight is, in most cases, a direct result of what you are consuming and how much you aren’t moving.

Winter is finally over! Woohoo! No more excuses for hiding yourself away indoors! It's time to rediscover the most fabulous YOU and take it outside!

Many individuals become stagnant during the cold months. They struggle just to get out of bed. Instead of working out, they head to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee or hot cocoa and a bag of donuts.

If they don't have to work, they might drag their listless bodies to the couch to watch hour after hour of mindless TV shows!

Their energy levels are extremely low. Lethargy consumes them. So, they lie around as much as possible to conserve energy. And, they eat loads of comfort food in an attempt to restore a sense of well-being.

The results of this winter behavior: an increase in body fat and flab; a decrease in skin tone, firmness, and radiance; the inability to squeeze into last summer's clothing; and a total distaste for looking in the mirror.

Sound familiar? Are you one of these individuals? If so, there IS hope! However, it requires some effort on your part!

Get a Body That's Fit for the Beach

Okay...here's the deal! Summer isn't all that far off! So, you've gotta start getting back in shape now!!!

Throw away those donuts and potato chips! Stop snacking merely because you're bored or depressed! If you feel you MUST have a snack, munch on some fresh fruit or veggies. (Be sure to keep plenty of these on hand and ready to eat for those snack attacks!)

At mealtime, cut back on the portion sizes. Eat balanced meals that ensure you get sufficient amounts from each food group. Avoid greasy, fried foods. And, if you have a sweet tooth, have a small serving of yogurt or fresh fruit for dessert.

Pay close attention to what your stomach tells you. Often, our heads tell us one thing, and our stomachs say another! Eat slowly to give your stomach time to register fullness before you've overeaten! And, when it tells you that it is full, STOP EATING! If you put only small portions on your plate, to begin with, you'll be less likely to overeat. If there's too much food on your plate, you don't have to eat it all! Save some for later!

For some people, eating several mini meals throughout the day, instead of three larger ones, works best for keeping hunger at bay when cutting calories.

Motivation

If you find it difficult to eat healthy foods in small portions, remind yourself why you're doing this! You want to look good and feel good! You want to shed those pounds you gained during the cold, winter months. You want to fit into that swimsuit you've had your eye on!

But, most of all...you want to be healthy and fit! And, a balanced, healthy diet is more than half the battle!

Don't Forget to Exercise!

Striving to be physically fit requires getting up off the couch and moving your body! Yes, you CAN lose weight through diet, alone...However, without exercise, your body will lack muscle strength and tone, which really improve the body's appearance!

Exercise also increases your energy level, as well as improves your cardiovascular (heart) fitness. Combined with healthy eating, being active can also bring out a radiance in you that others are certain to notice!

After having been sedentary for several months, be sure to consult your physician before beginning an exercise or diet program. Ask your doctor for advice on what kind of exercise might be good for you.

No matter what kind of exercises you choose, don't try to do more than your level of fitness warrants. Doing too much too soon will likely result in sore muscles. Walking for short distances is generally a great choice for those just getting back into the swing of things.

You can gradually increase the intensity and length of your workouts, as your fitness improves. But, if you really want to kick-start that weight-loss, include some strength training, too! Increase the muscle mass in your body, as you decrease the body fat. After all, muscle tissue burns calories more efficiently than does fat tissue! And, it looks much better than fat, too!

No Time to Waste!

What are you waiting for? With only weeks until the arrival of summer, you need to get started NOW! After you've reached your fitness goals, don't be surprised if you see a few heads turn your way...gazing upon you with appreciation!

Good health and happy exercising!

Cyndi Schoenhals
CPT and fitness writer

The FDA outlawed ephedra a year ago after linking the herb to deaths, heart attacks and strokes. Ephedra was promoted for shedding pounds, boosting energy and enhancing athletic performance, and makers insisted it was safe when used as directed.

On Thursday, a court in Utah ruled on a challenge to the ban from Nutraceutical International Corp. and said the FDA had failed to show low ephedra doses posed a "significant or unreasonable risk."

The decision prevents the FDA from enforcing its ban against products containing 10 milligrams or less of ephedra, FDA spokeswoman Kimberly Rawlings said.

"FDA interprets this to mean that the order remains in effect as to higher dosages of these products," Rawlings said.

The agency "is considering all of its options with respect to next steps," she added.

The nationwide ephedra ban that took effect in April 2004 was the first for a dietary supplement and is considered a key test of the FDA's power over the supplement industry.

Unlike prescription medicines, dietary supplements do not have to be proven safe before they can be sold. Under a 1994 law, the government must show a supplement is too risky to force it off the market.

Just because an overweight man can run around a baseball field or otherwise demonstrate aerobic fitness, it doesn't mean he need not worry about the risk of cardiovascular disease, new study findings suggest.

"Despite how fit you are, being an overweight or obese man exposes you to elevated risk factors for CVD (cardiovascular disease)," study author Dr. Demetra D. Christou, of the University of Colorado at Boulder, told Reuters Health.

"Physical activity and aerobic fitness should not be viewed as an alternative to weight loss for CVD prevention; instead, physical activity/aerobic fitness should be considered as an effective partner to weight management," the researcher added.

The findings dispute the notion that "it's okay to be fat if you're fit," co-author Dr. Phillip E. Gates said Monday during a telephone briefing for journalists. "Really, that's not the case," he said, adding, "If you are fit, you're better off if you're less fat."

The study involved 135 healthy men, ranging in age from 20 to 79. Some men, who were recruited from local running clubs, participated in vigorous endurance exercise more than five times each week. Others were either recreationally active or did not participate in any regular physical activity.

To determine whether fatness or fitness best predicted the men's risk of cardiovascular disease, the researchers measured 18 risk factors for the condition, including the men's levels of cholesterol and blood fats called triglycerides, fasting insulin and blood pressure. The team then looked at three measurements of body fatness -- the men's total percent body fat, body mass index and waist circumference -- as well as their maximal aerobic capacity based on treadmill exercises.

They found that body fatness, rather than aerobic fitness, was the most strongly and consistently associated with various factors that can predict a person's risk of cardiovascular disease, the investigators report this week in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.

High levels of body fatness were found among about a third of the vigorous exercisers, the researchers note.

Still, body fatness -- regardless of the measurement used -- was consistently associated with the study participants' cholesterol levels and all of the other CVD risk factors, even after the men's fitness and age were taken into consideration.

In light of the findings, "The primary cardiovascular health goal for men needs to be weight management and prevention of excess fat accumulation," Christou said.

The study has implications for both physically active men as well as inactive couch potatoes. "If you are a man who is overweight or obese you need to decrease your amount of fat despite how fit you are," Christou said.

On the other hand, she added, "If you are a man who is sedentary you need to increase your physical activity level and improve your aerobic fitness despite how fat you are."

Pedometers keep track of how far a person walks or runs. They also keep track of the number of steps a person takes. That -- plus advice to take 10,000 steps a day -- seems to be the best motivation for people who don't like to exercisemotivation for people who don't like to exercise.

The finding comes from a study of 58 women by University of Tennessee researcher Dixie L. Thompson, PhD, and colleagues. The women didn't get much exercise. In a typical day, they tended to take only 5,760 steps.

That's not much exercise. And it may explain why all of these middle-aged women (average age, 45) were overweight or obese (although none was severely obese).

At the very least, a person ought to get 30 minutes of exercise every day. That's about 10,000 steps.

So Thompson and colleagues told half of the women to "take a brisk 30-minute walk on most, preferably all, days of the week." They gave the women a pedometer -- sealed so the women could not read it -- to record how many steps they actually took.

The researchers told the other half of the women to walk 10,000 steps every day. They, too, got a sealed pedometer. But they also got another pedometer that showed them how many steps they were taking.

Women told to take a 30-minute walk averaged about 10,000 steps -- but only on days they actually took a walk. On other days, they tended to sit around as usual.

The women given a pedometer and told to walk 10,000 steps every day averaged about 12,000 steps on days they actually went for a walk. But even on days they didn't manage to go walking, they still upped their step total to about 8,000 steps.

"Pedometers are quite popular now, and with good reason," Thompson says, in a news release. "Our study shows they can provide an incentive for people to increase their activity levels. Study participants who monitored their daily steps with pedometers tended to walk more every day, even when they were below their goal of 10,000 steps per day."

The findings appear in the April issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Foods with a low Glycemic Index value (the 0-100 index ranks foods based on the effect they had on blood sugar levels) slowly release sugar into the blood, providing you with a steady supply of energy, and leaving you feeling satisfied longer so that you're less likely to snack. Foods with a high GI value cause a rapid, short-lived rise in blood sugar. This leaves you tired and hungry within a short time. The result: you end up reaching for a snack. If this pattern is repeated often, you're likely to gain weight by constantly overeating.

Diets based on GI index encourage you to eat foods with a low GI value and avoid those with a high GI value. This helps to prevent swings in blood sugar, helping you feel fuller longer. Most GI diets also recommend cutting down on fat, especially saturated fats. This means many of the foods which have a low GI value but are high in fat are still limited.

The glycemic index (GI) concept was first developed in 1981 by Dr. David Jenkins of University of Toronto (Canada). The premise: by identifying the impact of food on blood sugar levels, people with diabetes could be helped to choose the best foods to keep their blood sugar stable. However, the glycemic index alone doesn’t tell you how many grams of total carbohydrates are in a serving of food. This produces inconsistency and is confusing.

For example, soda has a glycemic index of 90 which seems to make it a healthier choice than cranberry juice which has a glycemic index of 105. Similarly, carrots have a comparatively high glycemic index of 131 while chocolate cake has a much lower glycemic index of 38. There is no doubt that for people who are trying to lose and maintain weight, carrots are better option than chocolate cake.

The glycemic index is not the best indicator of healthy food choices. That’s where Glycemic Load (GL) comes into play. It takes into consideration a food’s glycemic index as well as the amount of carbohydrates per serving. Foods with the lowest glycemic load have the lowest glycemic impact.

The Glycemic Impact Diet

With this new diet plan, highly processed, high glycemic index/load foods, including white bread and pasta, sugary cereals, mashed potatoes and white rice, are replaced with vegetables and fruits, legumes, unprocessed grains including oatmeal and long-grain brown rice. The plan also includes low and nonfat dairy, lean meats and healthy fats including monounsaturated fat from olives and avocado, plus omega-3 fatty acids from fish, nuts and seeds. These low glycemic impact foods sustain energy and allow you to develop your body into a stronger, slimmer one.

The Glycemic Impact program achieves stable blood sugars and energy by:

# Providing approximately 40% of calories from unrefined, complex carbohydrates, including whole grains and whole grain breads and cereals, and whole pieces of fruit instead of juice.

# Balancing carbohydrates with 30% percent of calories from lean protein (fish, chicken and the occasional beef and pork) with vegetarian options that include soy protein, tofu and textured vegetable protein.

# Designating about 30% of calories from healthy fats, including nuts, fatty fish, avocado and olive oil.

This is the ultimate in healthy eating -- excluding refined carbs, simple sugars, and saturated and trans fats. Some meals may be slightly higher in fat or protein, or lower in carbs, but at the end of the day, your nutritional balance is as designed.

The judge ruled in favor of a Utah supplement company that challenged the Food and Drug Administration's ban. Nutraceutical claimed that ephedra "has been safely consumed" for hundreds of years, and that ephedra was wrongly being regulated by the FDA as a drug and not a food.

Judge Tena Campbell agreed, saying federal law places more restrictive rules on the FDA in determining whether to ban foods as opposed to drugs. The judge said the law requires the FDA to prove that a dietary supplement is harmful, rather than having the manufacturer prove it is safe, as is required with drugs.

Nutraceutical President Bruce Hough said the lawsuit had little to do with ephedra and more to do with forcing the FDA to follow the rules Congress set down for it.

He said Nutraceutical interprets the ruling to mean that the company is allowed to start selling ephedra supplements again, but added that it is too soon to say whether it will put the products back on the market.

"This is a great affirmation for the system, that the court goes back and says, 'This is Congress' intent,' and follow it," he said.

FDA spokeswoman Kimberly Rawlings said the agency is "evaluating the decision."

Supplements that included ephedra were once widely used for weight loss and bodybuilding, with industry groups claiming at least 12 million users. The amphetamine-like stimulant, which speeds the heart rate and constricts blood vessels, has been linked to 155 deaths, including that of Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Steve Bechler. The federal government banned it one year ago.

Campbell's sends the matter back to the FDA "for further rulemaking consistent with the court's opinion" and keeps the agency from enforcement action against the companies.

Researchers who studied 488 runners in the 2002 Boston Marathon found that 62, or more than one in eight, had a serious fluid and salt imbalance from drinking too much water or sports drinks. Three of them had extreme imbalances.

One 28-year-old woman died after the race from the condition, called hyponatremia, in which the excess water dilutes the salt level in the body too much.

"More is definitely not better when it comes to fluids, but it's a hard message to get across," said Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Endurance athletes have long been warned about getting dehydrated, and many tend to drink more on race day than they do during training.

The study was reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

The researchers, led by Dr. Christopher Almond, a cardiologist at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston, tested Boston Marathon runners' blood after the race and collected information on their condition, race time and liquid intake.

They found hyponatremia was most serious in runners who gained substantial weight — 4 1/2 pounds to 11 pounds — from drinking lots of water along the route. Extremely thin runners also were at high risk. Runners who drank sports drinks, which contain very little salt, were not less likely to develop hyponatremia.

Bonci and Almond said a good way to prevent problems is for athletes to weigh themselves before and after training sessions. If they gain significant weight, they should cut back on water intake until they find the right balance — long before race day.

The goal is simply to replace water lost to sweating.

Hyponatremia can begin with confusion and lethargy and progress rapidly to twitching, seizures, stupor, coma and death.

Severe cases are believed to have become more common with the growing popularity of endurance sports. In recent years, hyponatremia has killed several amateur marathon runners, as well as competitors in the Marine Corps Marathon.

Nautilus Inc. recalled about 800,000 Bowflex Power Pro systems and Bowflex Ultimate Fitness Machines last year after receiving reports of injuries over a number of years. Under federal law, manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers must immediately report information about potentially hazardous products to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

"Companies need to understand that the quicker they report product safety problems to CPSC, the quicker we can take action together and protect consumers from injuries," CPSC Chairman Hal Stratton said in a statement issued in conjunction with the penalty, which was being announced Tuesday.

The Power Pro and Ultimate machines that came with a "Lat Tower" had backboard benches and seat pins that broke and collapsed, injuring some customers. Another version of the Power Pro was manufactured without a "Lat Tower," and the incline support brackets on these models also occasionally failed and resulted in injuries.

According to CPSC, Nautilus did not report 85 injuries between 1995 and 2004. Users suffered chipped teeth, cuts and back, disc and neck injuries. Nor did the company report design changes on the machines that were supposed to fix the problems, the agency said.

"No one likes to pay penalties, but the process has caused us to double check our quality standards as well as improve our reporting process," said Ron Arp, a Nautilus spokesman. "We're just glad to put it behind us."

The Power Pro models have been discontinued. Repair kits for Power Pro machines can be obtained through the Bowflex Web site.

1. Sliced turkey breast, roast beef, chicken breast or ham wrapped around celery sticks

2. Sliced avocado salad dressed with olive oil and a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar

3. Quarter-cup roasted almonds

4. Cup of roasted peanuts in the shell

5. Four large boiled shrimp with sugar-free cocktail sauce

6. Two cups sugar-free gelatin topped with a whipped cream

7. Hard-boiled eggs

8. String cheese

9. Celery stuffed with nut butter (no-sugar-added peanut, cashew or sesame butter)

10. Marinated olives and fennel

Developed in the early 20th century for dancers, Pilates has now become a mainstay of gyms across the U.S. However, there is little information about how many calories people typically burn with the technique.

After monitoring ten people during Pilates workouts, researchers found that a basic routine burns as many calories as a session of moderate stretching.

Intermediate workouts burned as many calories as basic stepping, while advanced workouts approximated the calories burned during speed walking at 4.5 miles per hour.

However, Pilates exercises appeared to provide a better workout for the external obliques, or muscles on either side of the abdomen, than basic crunches. The move known as the "Criss-Cross" gave those muscles the best workout.

The "Teaser" and "Roll-Up" exercises also challenged the rectus abdominis muscle, in the mid-section of the abdomen, more than standard bent-knee crunches.

These findings show that Pilates can be great for the abdominal muscles, but won't do much to help you lose weight, study author Dr. Michele Olson of Auburn University Montgomery in Alabama told Reuters Health.

"You can say Pilates is legitimate core training," she said. But if you're trying to lose weight, "you're going to definitely have to supplement with something else," such as a running regimen and diet, Olson noted.

During the study, Olson and her team asked ten people with an average of five years' experience with Pilates to follow basic, intermediate and advanced Pilates workouts for 30 to 45 minutes each, and measured how many calories they burned.

In a separate experiment, the researchers measured the activity of the abdominal muscles in ten people as they completed five Pilates moves and a standard stomach crunch.

The researchers found that, on average, a person weighing 75 kilograms (or 165 pounds) burns 480 calories per hour from an advanced workout, 390 calories per hour from an intermediate routine, and 276 calories for every hour of a basic Pilates workout.

However, some exercises burned more calories than others. For instance, during the intermediate and advanced workouts, the "Roll-Over, "Jackknife" and "Boomerang" exercises used a higher-than-average amount of calories, while the "Hundred," "Leg Circles" and the "Seated Twist" burned fewer calories, on average.

In terms of abdominal muscles, Pilates largely out-performed basic abdominal crunches.

Olson and her colleagues presented their findings last week in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the American College of Sports Medicine Health & Fitness Summit & Exposition.

1. Make A Commitment

Exercise will take some time and effort. Expect to strength train 20-45 minutes two or three times each week. You may be a little sore for the first week, but it will pass.

Join a club, work with a trainer or buy home equipment. Expect costs, but they can be minimized.

2. Get A Good Resource

This can be a personal trainer or a good book.

3. The Routine

Fifteen repetitions (one complete "lift and relax" cycle) for each set -- and two or three sets of each exercise. If you can't do at least eight repetitions, the weight is too heavy. Breathe once for each repetition and always move the weight slowly.

Rest two minutes between sets or do an exercise with a different muscle group. There's no reason your whole workout should take more than 45 minutes.

4. Progression

If you exceed 15 repetitions, the weight is too light. Gradually increase. Gallon milk containers make good weights. Just fill to increase weight. Dumbbells and cuff weights are right for some people. At first, you will be increasing the weight every week or so.

5. Rest And Grow

Don't do strengthening exercise routines on two consecutive days. Rest to give your muscles a chance to recuperate. You will become much stronger -- probably 25-100 percent stronger in each muscle.

Research shows the biggest improvements are in the first few months. Give it a chance -- you'll never be sorry!

Peanuts, a dietary outcast during the fat-phobic 1990s, have made a comeback, with consumption soaring to its highest level in nearly two decades and more doctors recommending nuts as part of a heart-healthy diet.

When peanut butter and snack peanuts plummeted as Americans switched to lowfat diets, the peanut industry responded with studies showing the health benefits of peanuts. Total consumption of peanuts jumped last year to nearly 1.7 billion pounds, compared to 1.5 billion pounds the year before.

The amount of snack peanuts eaten climbed to 415 million pounds in the 2003-2004 crop year, the highest since the mid-1990s. And peanut butter consumption soared to 900 million pounds, from a low of about 700 million in the '90s.

"Mothers gave us peanuts and peanut butter. Now, we've figured out that Mom was right. But it took a lot of researchers and universities to figure that out," said Don Koehler, executive director of Georgia's Peanut Commission.

The federal government's latest dietary guidelines say peanuts, which contain unsaturated fats, can be eaten in moderation.

"Now we know that the type of fat found in peanuts is actually good for us," said Lona Sandon with the American Dietetic Association. "It doesn't clog our arteries like saturated fat. It helps keep the arteries clean."

But that's only if you don't overdo it, and that's the part that often trips up peanut lovers. There are 14 grams of fat in one serving of peanuts, which is only one ounce. A handful can have up to 200 calories.

"The problem is that the portions need to be low so you don't overconsume the calories — that's where the public has a disconnect," said Madelyn Fernstrom, director of the Weight Management Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "It's a well-spent 200 calories if you can limit it to that. The problem is volume. It's very hard to have a small serving of peanuts, meaning a small handful."

When peanuts were out of favor in the last decade, American consumers seemed to overlook the respectable list of nutrients — vitamin E, niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, and minerals such as copper, phosphorous, potassium, zinc and magnesium. They also are a good source of fiber and protein.

Peanuts also have a small amount of resveratrol, the antioxidant in red wine that has been linked to the "French Paradox" — a low incidence of heart disease among the French, despite their love of cheese and other high-fat foods.

Research at several universities suggests peanuts may help prevent heart disease, that they can lower bad cholesterol and that they can help with weight loss, possibly by making people feel satisfied so they eat less overall. One Harvard study showed an association between peanut butter consumption and a reduced risk of diabetes.

Even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized a qualified health claim for peanuts and some tree nuts. Producers can say they may reduce their risk of heart disease by eating 1 1/2 ounces daily.

Anna Resurreccion, a University of Georgia food scientist, has focused her research on the resveratrol found in peanuts. By subjecting the nuts to stress — slicing the kernels, or subjecting them to ultrasound — the resveratrol level greatly surpassed that found in red wine, she said.

This development opens the door for new products, such as enhanced peanut butter that could offer even more health benefits and serve as a way to get resveratrol into children's diets, she said.

"Young children can't very well drink wine," Resurreccion said. "But most of them love peanut butter and peanut snack foods."

Like many 11-year-old boys, K.D. Jones loves sports. But at 5 feet, 175 pounds, he found his weight and the asthma it caused an obstacle to enjoying many activities. His doctor wanted him to lose 50 pounds, and he's hoping a new health study using video games to fight obesity will help him get down to 125 by the end of summer in time to play football.

Jones is one of 85 children being recruited by the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency to participate in an at-home study using the video game Dance Dance Revolution to increase activity.

He lost about 10 pounds by changing his diet. Now after two weeks playing the game, he's lost another 10.

"I feel a lot better," he said. "It's a lot easier to play basketball now."

His enthusiasm has his mother, who struggles with her own weight issues, giving the game a try.

"It's a lot of fun," Joyce Jones said. "But I can only do it about two times for every four times he does."

PEIA, which covers 215,000 public employees, teachers and their dependents, believes it is the first insurance provider to use the game to cut costs. Konami Digital Entertainment America, which distributes the Japanese game in the United States, knows of no other state or insurance agency using the game for its health benefits.

"Today's kids are tomorrow's members," said Nidia Henderson, PEIA health promotions manager. "Obesity claims last year cost us $77 million. We have to curtail those costs."

PEIA is providing a game console, dance pad and software for the six-month, $60,000 Games for Health study. West Virginia University is providing the medical screenings and tracking results.

The students, all children of PEIA-covered employees, are required to meet with researchers, play the game a prescribed amount of time, wear a pedometer and maintain a log. They get to keep the game software and pad.

So far, about a dozen kids have started playing the game. They will be re-evaluated after 12 weeks and again 12 weeks later.

PEIA also has spent about $10,000 on a two-year pilot project with the state Department of Education to put the game in 20 schools for use in physical education and health classes. They hope children who play it at school will get their parents to buy it for home use.

In West Virginia, nearly 43 percent of children screened in the Coronary Artery Risk Detection in Appalachian Communities project were considered overweight and more than 25 percent were obese. The project looked at 5,887 children in 27 rural West Virginia counties during the 1999-2002 school years.

"We are in a crisis in terms of childhood obesity not only in West Virginia but in America," said Linda Carson, a professor in WVU's School of Physical Education who is coordinating the PEIA study with Emily Murphy, a doctorate candidate at WVU's medical school.

Prescreening tests on the overweight children who signed up for the PEIA study have already raised concerns.

Researchers expected to find problems with blood pressure and cholesterol, but they also found that blood flow to the arteries was being disrupted. The condition can lead to diabetes and heart disease, Murphy said.

Researchers at Syracuse University in New York also have been looking at the potential for improved cardiovascular and physiological effects of children using the game. And at Penn State, researchers are studying how much energy children use playing games like Dance Dance Revolution.

Robrietta Lambert, a physical education teacher at Franklin Elementary in Pendleton County, believes she already knows what all the studies will find. She's been using the video game in her classes since last fall.

"It improves cardiovascular health as well as eye-hand coordination," Lambert said. "Kids who don't like other things bloom on this. If they don't like basketball, jumping rope or ball activities, they like this."