Late night, on an infomercial, a perky spokeswoman told me to "lose weight while taking a Jacuzzi!" The studio audience stood and cheered as if the space shuttle safely entered orbit. A stagehand wheeled out a stunning porcelain Jacuzzi, a steal at the factory direct price of "only 27 monthly payments of $ 166.48!"

Confused?

You're not alone. We are all looking. For an answer, an explanation, some help. But in our search, we are consumed. Misled. Who should we listen to? Simple. How about ourselves?

Think.

If you take the time to think, chances are you'll figure out for yourself whether or not lying back in a barcalounger can actually give you 6-pack abs. You'll answer your mushy thigh problem - without a rubbery apparatus you squeeze between your knees.

As exercise myths go, there are 2 kinds. The physical kind - the ones we just talked about. And the statement kind.

Ab work will get rid of a fat stomach. When it comes to body fat, there's no such thing as "spot" reducing. When you lose body fat, it comes off proportionately from your entire body. Sit-ups and other resistance exercises will, however, tone the muscles underneath the fat.

If you stop exercising, muscle will turn to fat. They are two distinct tissues. One type can never turn into another type. Muscle tissue will shrink, so you may feel flabbier. Also, when muscles get smaller, they don't need as many calories, so your metabolism slows. With a slower metabolism, if you eat the same amount of calories, you may gain body fat.

Weight training will make you muscle-bound. People who look muscle-bound want to look that way. It's not easy. They lift a lot of weight and do many repetitions to achieve that muscular look. Weight training in moderation is an excellent way to strengthen and tone muscles and is a key component to an overall fitness program.

My Expert sometimes give me a 3 minute repetition on treadmill that is fast, steep and hard to do followed by a 1 minute repetition that is slower, flat and pretty easy to do. What was he thinking when designing the program that way?

When you perform an activity like walking up a steep hill at a fast pace you use a specific energy system called the anaerobic system to power your legs. When you walk at a lower intensity, on a flatter surface for a shorter period of time you use another different specific energy system in your body called aerobic energy system.

Or think of it this way. As you hike quickly up steep, hilly stretch in the woods with a backpack on you are using your anaerobic energy system. After lunch, with the pack off, when you take a stroll, you are now using your aerobic energy system to power your body through that meadow.

New Skincare Launch at the Trump Spa and The Plus One Spa at the Waldorf - July 2005

Plus One is the first major spa company to offer the Dakar line in the upscale New York hotel market!

Sonya Dakar developed products using her extensive knowledge of botanical and essential oils. Eschewing chemicals and using only natural products, her "skin fitness" regimens are meant to get the skin in shape. Next time you are in New York, take time to pamper yourself and your skin.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. There's good news for those of us who've given up our beloved cups of Joe in the interest of good health. Coffee has been undergone some rigorous testing in the past ten years, and according to studies from the Harvard University School of Public Health and The Nestle Research company, Coffee packs more of an antioxidant punch than either green tea or red wine. Two or three times more, in fact.

It's not only a heavyweight when it comes to battling free radicals. Coffee appears to be sort of a "miracle food" that has been shown to prevent type II, or adult onset Diabetes. It also reduces the risk of colon cancer, prevents Parkinson's disease, boosts male fertility, cuts the risk of liver cirrhosis by 80%, helps manage asthma (it can even help control an attack when medication is unavailable), prevents cavities, and helps offset damage from smoking and drinking too much.

Scientists have suspected for quite some time that coffee helps protect against Cancer, and German scientists recently discovered why. Coffee contains an exclusive and powerful antioxidant called methylpyridinium. Methypyridinium boosts blood enzymes that fight colon cancer and is formed in the roasting process from a chemical found naturally in the bean.

The stronger the coffee, the higher the level of methylpyridinium. Darker roasts contain two or three times more than medium roasts.