Quick Facts: Feeling the bulge?

When you're feeling bloated there are a few foods that could be to blame according to the Mayo Clinic Health Letter. The best way to relieve that gassiness you may feel is to hit the gym, but here's what to be sure to avoid.

-Milk : try to get your calcium elsewhere, like low-fat yogurt. The bulge could be caused by your body being unable to digest the sugar lactose in dairy, says Oxygen Magazine.

-Diet Soda: carbonation and sweeteners can be the source of bloating.

-High-Fat Foods: Fat suspends stomach emptying and increases the sensation of fullness. Fried foods, meats that are fatty, and creamy sauces could also be to blame.

The Mayo Clinic also suggests these ways to avoid prevent excessive gas:

• Avoid the foods that affect you most. (Like the ones listed above!)
  
• Temporarily cut back on high-fiber foods. Fiber aids digestion, but many high-fiber foods are also great gas producers. After taking some time off, slowly add fiber back to your diet.
  
• Eat slowly. Try to make meals relaxing not rushed to avoid upsetting digestion.
  
• Get moving. Try to take the puppy for a walk or go for a bike ride after dinner or a heavy meal.
  
• Try an over-the-counter remedy. Beano, Lactaid or Dairy Ease can help digestion and gas. The Mayo Clinic says, products containing simethicone can help break bubbles in gas.
  

Are you a Flintstone's kid?

I have a confession: I'm a total pill popper. No, no, not that kind. I'm a vitamin addict and proud of it. I am a true believer that these tiny pills produce major benefits.

Remember back in the day, when your mom made you take your Flintstones vitamins? It wasn't a small form of torture, but in fact, it helped you to grow and maintain a healthy childhood. But just because momma isn't shoving the chewables in your face anymore, doesn't mean you don't need them!

I have been taking a multivitamin since I was in high school and now along with my multivitamin, I take Vitamin C and E daily.

I pass out vitamin C to my sniffling friends like its candy, it works miracles. Taking vitamins is not only essential to your wellness, but can be beneficial to reducing body-fat percentage.

Obviously, food is the best source to get nutrients, but it's hard to get all of what your body needs, especially if you are dieting, according to the US Food and Drug Administration. The body uses vitamins for many natural processes including growth, digestion, and nerve function.

So, how do you figure out what vitamins you need to be taking?

The Food and Nutrition Board, National Acedemy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine, have established the recommended daily allowances (RDA) and adequate intakes (AI) for each unique person.

Click on the following vitamin essentials and see what benefits they can offer you:

Calcium
Potassium
Fiber
Magnesium
Vitamin A
Vitamin C
Vitamin E

Sh. I'm Watching the Game

Standing at 5’ 5” with an athletic build and blonde hair, I may sound like plenty of other young women. I do not see myself as the average girl. I’ve never been catty, or acted like a drama queen. I love sports more than anything, and I’ll order a beer over a cosmo any day.

I have always been an athlete. I can adjust quickly to almost any sport and although I may not particularly excel at each sport, I can still play and keep up.

Since sports are very high on my priority list, I'd be honored to write, or even report for ESPN someday. Still, I watch Sports Center only to wonder if I can actually keep up in the “man’s world of sports.” It frustrates me to be a sports fanatic and a female. Time after time, I hear the association of men and sports.

A waitress on a date asks, “are you enjoying the game?” I respond to the waitress, “he isn’t watching the game, I am.” Understandably, this mistake happens often.

I love sports and I am a girl. Get over it.

Sports are unpredictable, always changing, and if you understand them, sports can be debated. I have specific players I love, whether it’s football, basketball, and yes, even baseball. If my boys are playing, I have to watch.

For the most part, I don’t really pick sides. May the best team win, right? I love a good battle. When the Giants won the Super Bowl, to me, that was an incredible game.

I know when Sports Center is on the T.V. in my living room, my three roommates change the channel, end of story. This doesn’t mean all women are clueless about sports. And believe it or not, some women even know more about sports than some men!

The first time I got sent to the principal’s office was in fourth grade. I stole a football from a group of boys who said I couldn’t play with them because I was a girl. I ran away with the ball and when a boy came and tried to take it back, I bit him on the arm.

I guess I showed him.

My point is that boys are raised to think that not only are girls incapable of playing a sport with them, they are not allowed.

So maybe I can’t physically be a football player, but does that mean I'm incapable of understanding and enjoying the game just as much as a man?

I know I deserve a spot behind one of ESPN's desks someday. Look for me.
Disagree? Try me. I bite.

:) Just kidding.

Rearrange Your Fridge

What does your refrigerator have inside?

There are some healthy staples that you should keep in your fridge to encourage healthy eating and help cut calories (where you may not have known you can).

Pre-cutting your veggies and fruits is a great way to make them convenient and appetizing treats. Try making fruit salads, or having lettuce mixes for a quick meal or snack.

Nutritionist Keri Glassman suggests substituting healthy alternatives for food you might already have in your fridge.

Healthyfridge.org suggests freezing fruits such as bananas, grapes and orange slices for a fun and fresh snack, which can tame that sweet tooth!

Are you sick of opening your fridge and not seeing anything worth eating? Invest in healthy staples and you will be guaranteed to snack smart and stay trim.

Quick Facts: Get Funky.

Picture this: your hips are moving, arms pumping, feet stomping, heart racing and sweats dripping from your forehead, sounds like a hard workout right? More like a fun one. You are doing the salsa, tango, or maybe belly dancing or hip hop. Whatever your dancing style, it is a great way to get in shape and challenge yourself in a new area of fitness.

Along with the endorphins (or happiness) felt after dancing, it increases strength through repetition, improves flexibility, works the lungs and heart (cardio), and tightens core, according to Dudley Flores, director of dance workout programs at Rhythm and Motion Dance Center.

"The last fitness benefit would be coordination. Dancing can help overcome clumsiness. I think clumsiness is more mental than physical. If someone feels that they have two left feet going into a class, they will almost always overcome it and learn the choreography. Someone who isn't coordinated can definitely take a class and grow from it," says Flores.

Buzzle.com says that dancing is the eternal stress reliever. Even if you just hit the club with friends, dancing can burn up to 300 calories per hour (for 150 pound person).

Less stress, better health, improved weight and muscle tone, doesn't get much better than that… wait I take that back, it's FUN too!

Have you signed up for a dance class yet?

Take a Vacation From the Gym

Okay, okay so I've been out and about enjoying the sun. I can admit when I am slacking on my writing but all in the name of a great cause. Spring break! Don't worry though; I haven't been slacking on being active.

Everyone deserves a vacation sometimes and after training like crazy for that 5k, its due time. Even on vacation, you can get a decent workout by trying new and fun things! Here is a list of some great ways to burn calories even when you're taking time off.

• Try surfing.
• Take a hike on the beach or at a park.
• Play football or beach volleyball.
• Get a great night's sleep.
• Swim laps in the pool.
• Go bowling.
• Play Frisbee.
• Kiss somebody.
• Drink green tea.
• Play tag with the kids (or friends!)
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Give the bellhop a rest, get your own bags.
• Laugh!
• Go dancing.
• Try golfing.
• Take a walking tour.

Take some time to enjoy yourself but remember to keep fitness in mind. Staying active and eating right are the keys to success and healthy living!

Wait… a 5k isn’t 5 miles?

I write this fitness blog, but I am not just a bunch of talk. Fitness happens to be my lifestyle of choice and has been for quite some time. Coming from a family with two older brothers the tomboy in me has always been present.

Baseball or football in the streets with neighbors, was my afternoon activity of choice in elementary school. In junior high and high school, I played basketball in the winter and ran track in the spring for most of my years. I was third in the state in the 220m sprint in tenth grade.

Soon after, a knee injury put a halt to my career as an athlete, but my love of fitness didn't stop. I decided to make it my job at 16 years old, when I became a trainer at a local women's fitness center. I worked there for two years and loved what I did.

In college, I grew to love ESPN and sports but more recently decided to make it a career goal. My ultimate job would be to work for ESPN, Fox Sport, or a fitness magazine. Living in south Florida has brought me the oppurtunities to attend Heat games regularly, along with Dolphins and Marlins games (although now that Zach Thomas and Dontrelle Willis are gone, my team choices may be changing).

So when it comes to sports, health, and fitness its somethinig I love and live. I write my workouts into my planner; it's part of my daily routine.

In December, running long distances became a new fitness goal of mine. I began training in hopes of running a 5k (that means five kilometer not five miles; it is 3.1 miles).

I decided "to try" a 5k to see what it was like, on February 9 (I had been planning to run one on March 1). I ran it in 23:58. Not bad for a first timer right? I was surprised and fell in love instantly.

I started training a little harder and set a goal of 22 minutes for my race on the first.

Well, today was my race, I ran it in 22:24. Not bad, not bad at all. That's an average of 7:14 minute miles. (Remember I was a sprinter, not a cross country runner in high school!)

Setting a new fitness goal for yourself is great motivation to get on a specific track and stay on it. Even if fitness is your life, you have to continue to push yourself to the next level of achievement.

What's next for me? Not too sure yet… 10k? Half marathon?? I'll let you know.