Only 5 percent of Americans do anything vigorous on a given day.
Did you exercise today?
Live Poll
Did you exercise today?
Did you exercise today?
VoteTotal Votes: 1364
Only 5 percent of Americans do anything vigorous on a given day.
Does nutritional information posted at restaurants affect how you order?
VoteTotal Votes: 360
More restaurants, either by mandate or by choice, are bombarding diners with calorie counts and other information. But the profusion of numbers makes one wonder: Is it possible to give diners too much information about their food? And are they paying attention?
What are your top food triggers?
VoteTotal Votes: 0
The lure of the TV, your friends’ weight, salad on a menu. Some causes of overeating are under the radar — so dropping pounds can simply be a matter of increasing awareness. In the comments field, share what sends you snacking.
Do you stretch before exercising?
VoteTotal Votes: 806
Many people take it for granted that they should start their exercise routines with some stretching on the spot, perhaps hoping it will loosen them up for their workout. Most fitness experts now agree this kind of static stretching before exercise is not just counter-productive, but potentially harmful.
Do you do warmup stretches before exercising? Will you change that now? msnbc.com would like to know what you think.
What’s your top New Year’s resolution?
VoteTotal Votes: 220
If yours isn’t on this list, tell us what it is in the comment field below.
| Lose weight | 30.9% (68 votes) |
| Get out of debt | 14.5% (32 votes) |
| Start exercising or do it more | 11.8% (26 votes) |
| Eat healthier | 9.1% (20 votes) |
| Get organized | 8.2% (18 votes) |
| Stop smoking | 7.7% (17 votes) |
| Find a partner | 6.4% (14 votes) |
| Give up drinking (or at least cut back) | 4.5% (10 votes) |
| Spend more time with family and friends | 3.2% (7 votes) |
| Stop stalking my ex on Facebook | 2.3% (5 votes) |
| Ditch my partner | 1.4% (3 votes) |
It's the holidays, that ambiguous time of indulgence that used to be confined to Thanksgiving but which now encompasses the chunk of the year between Halloween and Valentine's Day — and, oh, why not, let's just throw in St. Patrick's Day.
Focusing just on Christmas, though, here are five pervasive health misconceptions you might encounter during your time of merriment:
Some foods just aren't taken seriously.
Consider celery, for example — forever the garnish, never the main meal. You might even downgrade it to bar fare, since the only stalks most guys eat are served alongside hot wings or immersed in Bloody Marys.
Students at a historically black college near Philadelphia won't have to take a fitness class to graduate after all.
Lincoln University faculty nixed the idea this week amid complaints the so-called "fat course" undermined a school principle of equal treatment.
Unable to get the swine flu vaccine in her area, Demi Knight Clark has been hoping exercise will help to keep her healthy this winter.
After working out on and off for several years, Clark, 32, of Fort Mill, S.C., decided to commit to a regular exercise program this summer to boost her health and ease work stress. Since then, she's been doing yoga, including power yoga, about four days a week and Pilates on another two.
Searching for a gift for the exercise enthusiast on your list? Whatever the sport or activity, we have ideas that are fun, functional and in a range of prices to help keep you fiscally fit.
To come up with this year's list of hot gear and gadgets, we turned to msnbc.com fitness contributors Jay Blahnik, a personal trainer in Laguna Beach, Calif., and author of "Full-Body Flexibility," and Gina Lombardi, a Los Angeles personal trainer and author of "Deadline Fitness."
I walked over a mile along a stormy Lake Michigan shore. It was great to get outside.