For the past few mornings, I've been working in a 45-minute walk before I head into work. I've dubbed this time "Big Dog Hour" because all my neighbors with dogs 100 pounds or more seem to be out and about.

You’ve had a killer workout and a hot shower, right on the heels of a good night’s sleep.

You want to take on the day, but you can’t; your breakfast is bringing you down.

It’s the same old thing, day after day. Your breakfast is utilitarian and functional.

It’s like putting on white cotton underpants; it does the job, but it’s just not a lot fun.

So, we've all heard of the superfoods -- foods packed with so much nutrition, you'd be foolish to reach past them and grab a handful of Doritos. And while most of us seem to have incorporated some element of the superfoods into our diet, now comes the best foods that we should be eating but aren't.

And I'm on board with cinnamon, pomegranate, plums, pumpkin seeds, turmeric, blueberries and pumpkin, but the rest of these foods are what my turtle eats, cabbage, Swiss chard, what on earth?

Here's the list -- in order ....
1. Beets
2. Cabbage
3. Swiss chard
4. Cinnamon

Well we are into week 2 on this Wednesday of the challenge. The day of registration we had 17 sign up with 12 who entered the challenge. The 2nd week we had 3 new who enter the challenge, so everyone here in Alaska Rocks at the Challenge!

How exciting the first day was. Everyone was so shy at first but they came out and great questions were asked.

Week 1 was on Protein, and great recipes. This week it's on water the importance of.

Please everyone, Thank you for making this the best turn out we have had. Keep the questions coming in. Deb

In a perfect world, we'd all eat fresh fruit and veggies, low fat, high protein foods and fast foods would be non-existent.

But since we all live in the real world, fast food is a reality for nearly all of us.
Simply stated - Americans love fast food.

To answer the question of how much is too much, many nutritionists would say any amount is too much. Fast food is an overly processed collection of salty, saturated fats that offer little in terms of nutrition. And for the most part, the nutritionists are right.

We all know walking is great exercise. It helps the heart and lungs, it builds strong muscle and it's good for our bones!

It's also a good social activity. We can walk with friends, catch up with our lives and if you are like me, walking can lead in just the opposite direction. It can be a time to be alone, with no-one talking, no little fingers tugging at me and no-one asking me what's for dinner! I can smell the air, listen to the geese and feel the breeze. Just me and me.

I can also feel my waist line getter smaller and my legs becoming leaner. And who doesn't want that benefit?

Monday morning at the gym. It feels so heavy. I have to admit, after having a day off, my resistance was formidable.

Resistance is the most dependable workout partner you can have. I don't believe you ever get over that initial feeling of, "I just don't want to do this." In or out of the gym, that feeling means that whatever you are about to embark upon will be a growth experience for you.

I thought this was interesting..

Government law in Japan requires some companies to actually measure men and women's waist, and if they fall above the pre-determined unhealthy measurement, they are given dieting guidance to lose weight!

So, what is the government limits for waist measurements?
- 33.5 inches for men
- 35.4 inches for women

Uh-oh - I guess Empowher might be attracting the wrong crowd!

File this under News of the Weird but a study has shown that most criminals are in great shape!

With so many women seemingly looking for an effective way to loose weight (especially after menopause) wanted to pass along a few tips I found regarding sprinting.

Study subjects who spent just 20 minutes mixing sprints with jogging lost three times the fat off their legs and butt in 15 weeks (and God only knows how many women want to shape up this area) compared to those who jogged steadily for 40 minutes, research from the University of New South Wales in Sydney finds. (Source: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/healthie...)