Subway has done a good job marketing themselves as a fresh, low-fat alternative to other fast food chains.  Turns out, Subway isn't half bad for you!  I'm actually impressed.

If you can stand to be in a sandwich place and not get a sandwich, then definitely go for the:  Grilled Chicken and Baby Spinach Salad with olive oil and vinegar because it only has 185 calories, 8 grams of fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 450 mg of sodium and 11 grams of carbs.

You should probably get the:  Turkey Breast 6-inch Sandwich on wheat bread (lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, pickles and olives) with 280 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 1020 mg of sodium and 46 grams of carbs.

You could also get the:  Roast Beef 6-inch Sandwich on wheat bread (lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, pickles and olives) with 290 calories, 5 grams of fat, o grams of trans fat, 920 mg of sodium and 45 grams of carbs.

I know it may sound tempting, but do not get the:  Meatball Marinara 6-inch Sandwich on wheat bread (lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, pickles, olives and cheese) with 560 calories, 24 grams of fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 1610 mg of sodium and 63 grams of carbs.

For other ways to watch your calories at Subway,

• Breads:  Subway offers some other lower calories options to the sandwich such as the wraps and deli style sandwiches.  For comparisons sake, one 6" wheat bread has 200 calories, one deli style roll has 170 calories and the wrap has only 120 calories (8 grams of fiber).  If you must stick with the 6" breads then don't get the Honey Oat or Italian Herbs & Cheese because both pack on 250 calories.
• Condiments:  Stay away from Mayonnaise (110 calories) and Chipotle Southwest Sauce (96 calories).  Use mustard instead (yellow or brown) and you're only adding 5 calories.
• Veggies:  The more the merrier.  Load your sandwich up with veggies as all of the veggies on Subway's menu are 5 calories or less.
• Cheeses:  Pass or add 40-60 calories.
• Double Meat (DM):  That's a double NO — NO.
• Cookies:  Sorry, that's a pass too.  At upwards of 200 calories, you could have another 6" sandwich.

Did you know that your waist measurement is a great diagnostic tool for measuring your risk for heart disease?

Well, according to the Mayo Clinic men with waist measurements of 40 inches and women with measurement of 35 inches, accompanied by a BMI — Body Mass Index of 25 or less, have a greater risk for heart disease.

Why, you might ask, is your waist size relevant to the health of your heart?  It is due to your omentum — the fat organ attached to your stomach and liver.  The omentum's only job is to store fat and make it easily accessible to the body and brain.  The problem is that the omentum is very good at its job and it makes belly fat all too easy to access (as opposed to fat on your thighs or booty).  The fat enters your bloodstream where it creates an inflammatory process and irritates your arteries and puts you at risk for blocked arteries.  So it is much better to have a pear shaped body and be thick in your hips than to have a round shaped apple body.

As 2017 is well under way, maybe you're not making as much progress as you wish you were on your new year's resolution to get healthy.

Best friends, husbands, parents and even coworkers may seem to have the best intentions but their actions may not agree.  It is important that you, and your close ones, realize that your decision to get healthy is a positive one and also not one that you are pushing on them.  Some people are intimidated by those who are dieting, working out, eating right, etc because it makes them wonder if they should be doing the same and some people are just plain clueless.

So take control of your situation with these simple ideas:

1. Do the grocery shopping for yourself.  If someone else does it for you, then provide a list so that you don't end up with random snacks and sweets.  Tell them you appreciate gifts, but cookie dough is not the kind of gift you're looking for right now.
   
   There's more, so
    
2. Plan group outings.  For dessert, walk to the nearest place (ice cream, cake, coffee, etc).  Chances are by the time you reach your destination, you won't want it anymore and then whoever you are with still can satisfy her sweet tooth however she wants.
3. Invite others to play.  If your husband or roomie complains they are lonely while you are at the gym, offer to let them come with you and use your guest passes.
4. Crunch Numbers.  If your husband or parents are complaining about how much money you are spending on your gym membership and gear, kindly remind them how much you are saving on not buying junk food.  Also, keeping healthy will save you a bundle in health bills down the line.
5. Be gracious, but don't back-track.  If your roomie, parents or husband see all your hard work and kindly reward your efforts with a gift certificate to The Olive Garden then kindly thank them but remind them that a truly great reward would have been a new heart rate monitor or something more relevant to your goals.
6. Cook.  I know, here we are again doing all the work, but sometimes it is just easier to cook the food yourself and know that it is healthy.

If you are looking for some extra support come and join Fit's Diet Support Group where dieters dish about dieting.

Many of us pick fast food places like Chipotle because we think that it is the healthy alternative to other restaurants on the go.  It can be, but you have to choose wisely so before you head out to Chipotle, I've broken the menu down from the nutrition chart below.

So say you get a burrito with chicken, rice, black beans, cheese, sour cream and guacamole;  you're looking at about 1,319 calories.  [gasp]

Do yourself a favor and get a bowl (no wrap), with chicken and fajita veggies, tomato salsa and lettuce — Skip the rice, cheese, sour cream and guacamole and it will only be 349 calories.

I am sure you have all see or heard about the book You On a Diet — either the advertisements or the person sitting next to you on the subway was reading it.  It is everywhere.

It is the first diet book I have ever read that explains how the body works and why fad diets don't work.  They advocate a healthy lifestyle with slow but steady results.

You will learn about:  omentum fat, cortisol, steroids, amino acids, inflammation, hormones, and so much more.  Although, sometimes you can't see the tree through the forest — so many factoids are thrown at you.

Another annoyance I must address is the tone.  It is written in a distracting, overly chatty style that occasionally obscures the information they are trying to impart.

Here's a few of my faves for ya:

• "You'll sweat, you may feel sore, you may stink like month old macaroni salad." pg 146
• "Even if the only barbell you've ever seen is the one that's piercing your buddy's tongue ..." pg 147
• "... your intestinal wall is Clint Eastwood tough." pg 80
• "... to list longer than Route 66." pg 92
• "... activity that raises your heart (sorry, watching George Clooney movies doesn't count." pg 147

I say all this more as a disclaimer than a critique, because I really think everyone should read this book (especially folks dieting) to learn how the body works.  It is pretty inspirational without too many self help over tones.  It includes recipes and fitness programs and lots, and lots of cartoons.

Buy it at Amazon.com for only $14.70.