That's the word from Fox News Channel Chief White House Correpsondent Bret Baier, who talks about his quest to get back into shape in the new issue of Men's Health.

Some might already be aware of the blog that Baier has been keeping for the past few months. In the Men's Health piece, Baier's battle is chronicled, but there are a ton of tips and tricks in there too for people who want to get into shape, especially busy travelers like Baier. Some of the "tips from the road:" Forget about the menu (decide what you want before you see all the options), invite a new client to dinner (studies show we eat less in front of strangers), and make sure you check out your hotel and the area to see where the best gyms are.

He says it's hard to eat well when the food on Air Force One is so good, but he's had success. He lost 20 pounds in 8 weeks.

Not all low-carbers like sticking to their diets because they sometimes feel that they are missing out on some of their favorite foods, but one of the most frequently heard warnings is not that anyone on the diet will never be able to eat bread again, but that the high-fat diet is bad for their hearts. It turns out that bit of conventional wisdom might not be true after all.

A new, long-term study, done by researchers at the Harvard Medical School, followed the records of women over the course of two decades. The women followed different types of diets, but were not actually on a "diet," and were actually slightly overweight on average. The study produced some interesting results. First, it found that low-carb/high-fat diets, such as the Atkins diet, do not raise the risk of heart disease. Second, it found that eating a lot of processed foods could possibly raise that risk. Third, and most interestingly, it revealed that low-carbers who got most of their protein and fat from vegetables, rather than from animal sources, reduced their risk of heart disease by an average 30% over the women who ate more animal fat.

While Atkins may be out, the idea of "good carbs" vs " bad carbs" is still at the forefront of the thoughts of healthy eaters everywhere and whole grains are definitely a hot topic for cooks. Against the Grain not only provides whole grain recipes, but it is rooted in Mediterranean cuisine, which is not only heart-healthy, but might play a role in Alzheimer's prevention.

The recipes, most of which are formulated for weight loss or "maintenance," are not limited to Italian food, which many cookbooks seem to think is synonymous with "Mediterranean cuisine." They come from Morocco, Tunisia, Greece and the Middle East, as well. There are appetizers and snacks, soups, salads and lots of main courses, all of which are light on potatoes, breads and other white-flour foods. Instead, there are lots of proteins, vegetables and combinations of whole grains, including brown rice, bulgur wheat. Recipes include Pork Medallions Marinated with Olives and Orange, Roast Chicken Stuffed with Spinach, Wild Rice, Walnuts, and Feta and Sicilian Fisherman's Stew.

It seems a little late for a company to suddenly be jumping on the low-carb bandwagon (at least, I haven't previously noticed it in my area), but that's pretty much what Heinz has done with their one-carb Reduced Sugar Ketchup. The ketchup has 75% less sugar than their regular ketchup and 2/3 fewer calories. Since it is being marketed as a healthier alternative to regular ketchup, the company notes that it still has plenty of heart-healthy lycopene from tomatoes in it, so anyone who switches to it won't be missing out.

Frankly, it's hard to imagine that a low carb ketchup will really stand up to regular ketchup, let alone to Organic Heinz, and because you don't generally consume ketchup by the cupful, how harmful could a few extra grams of sugar be? They're probably not has unhealthy as the French fries or other food that is being served with the ketchup in the first place.

Stevia is not a sweetener that is approved for use by the FDA. It is actually classified as a dietary supplement, an herb, that happens to be sweeter than sugar and can be - and is - used as a sweetener. It is all natural, has no calories (or carbs) and is getting more and more popular, though it makes up only a small portion of the non-sugar sweetener market.

Its popularity is due to an increased awareness for the product, thanks to well-placed advertisements and hard work on the part of the SweetLeaf Stevia brand's LA marketing firm, which has made sure that high end restaurants and even stores carry the product, prompting even more coverage from newspapers and magazines.

The only problem with Stevia, according to both the manufacturers and consumers, is that it is still hard to find. Not all stores carry it. Some stores, like Trader Joe's, try to make the product easily visible, but because it is an herb, it is often stocked in the supplements aisle in other stores, not in the section of the market with the sugars and sweeteners. Clearly this is not a huge setback, however, because the sales of the sweetener are steadily increasing. In the last year alone, they have increased almost 40%, though overall sales are only one tenth of the sales of Splenda, the top selling non-sugar sweetener.

If the interest in the product keeps growing at this rate - and it seems likely to - we could see Stevia become more widely available and used in more packaged products in place of artificial sugars.

Gah. I hate when this happens. You buy something at the supermarket because you're hungry and in a hurry, and you're really looking forward to eating it, and then you get home and realize the frozen dinner you bought includes a food item that you absolutely hate (it's even worse when you pick up the wrong thing entirely and get home and find out you have to drive all the way back to the store, but that's a separate post).

I bought Smart Ones Pot Roast Dinner the other night, and today I decided to have it for lunch, and when I opened the package I noticed it had...cauliflower?! Ugh! I hate cauliflower.

They probably put it in there as a substitute for potatoes (which should be in every pot roast dinner, damn it), for people looking to limit their carbs. People are always trying to pass off cauliflower as potatoes. Nope, ain't gonna happen. (And don't get on my case about buying frozen dinners. Even people who cook a lot sometimes buy frozen foods when they want something quick and easy.) I was surprised by this, because Smart Foods makes my favorite frozen dinner of all-time, and I thought this would be another winner. Oh well, live and learn. I'll get the Stouffer's next time.

The dinner also had mushrooms in it and smelled like old feet. I don't like mushrooms either.

Though the very height of the "low carb craze" has passed, millions of people still follow a low or reduced carb diet. A new study reveals that, though they are sticking to it voluntarily, at least 3 out or 5 low-carbers feel limited in what they are allowed to eat and regularly crave forbidden foods, which makes sticking to the diet that much harder. The number one thing that low carb dieters miss are baked goods (50%), followed by pasta (22%) and fruit (9%). More than 25% of respondents said that the prepackaged versions of baked goods and some mixes, though diet-friendly, were not worth eating under any circumstances.

The survey was commissioned by the baking-mix company Krusteaz, and coincides with the release of a new line of low-carb baking mixes, called CarbSimple. For the sake of all those poor, dissatisfied low-carbers, let's hope that the line turns out to be a good one.

But aside from promoting a new product, the results here indicate that the diet is not for everyone. If you constantly (or even frequently) feel that you are missing out, if baked goods of any kind - from blueberry muffins to sandwich bread - are at the top of your "must-have" list, the low-carb diet is going to be a tough one to follow and you might be better off choosing a different eating regimen. Picking one strategy that you can follow long-term - low carb or otherwise - will generally produce the best results because it is one that you can willingly and happily follow.

• The rundown on gazpacho, complete with a history and several recipes.
• Why is Krispy Kreme having such a hard time, especialy in New England? Too much emphasis on one product, expanding too fast, the low carb craze, the challenge from Dunkin Donuts. I also happen to think that it's because Krispy Kreme donuts are overrated.
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• This week's recipes: Old Fashioned Lattice Cherry Pie, Pinto Bean Spread, Baked Eggs with Shrimp and Capers, and Rustic Summer Berry Croustade.

Dr. Biggles, who blogs primarily about the wonders of meat at Meathenge, will occasionally diverge from his carnivorous inclinations and post something a little bit different. Fortunately for his readers, posts like this one, about a batch of no-sugar-added Blackberry Jam, are equally satisfying. Made from fresh blackberries and apples, as the apples provide pectin to keep the jam together, the reason the jam is sugarless and was sweetened with Splenda is that it was made to be shared with a diabetic. Although the recipe had no real sugar added to it, it sounds as though it turned out perfectly and was a hit with everyone- diabetic or not. If you pick up a bunch of fresh berries and can't think of wh

A recent study done at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles studied the diets of normal weight and overweight people and found that the normal weight participants ate more fruit and more fiber each day than their heavier counterparts. The overweight eaters tended to consume more total fat and cholesterol, and fewer carbohydrates. The normal weight subjects ate an average of one more piece of fruit per day.

Scientists are saying that their findings lead them to believe that the composition of the daily diet can make a big difference in obesity levels and though the study was on too small a scale to extrapolate the data to the nation population at this time, it is an indicator that the still-popular high fat, low carb diets may not always be the best choice when looking to lose weight or maintain it. Researchers stress, of course, that there is no "magic formula," but when the formula might involve one more piece of fruit per day, what's the harm in adding it in?

Diet is a word that you don't really want to hear on Valentine's Day, especially since the word you probably want to hear is chocolate. Unfortunately, millions of people are either actively dieting or simply watching their weight - and they neither want to eat all those extra calories and fat grams at a meal, nor do they want to refuse them. After all, they've only lost weight, not their taste buds. Dieters have learned how to cope at restaurants, but if you are inclined to cook for your sweetheart, you will have to customize your dinner menu to their requirements. Fortunately, this isn't as difficult as it seems. Try one of these menus for your special evening, one lower in fat and one lower in carbs. Both include an appetizer, side dish, a main course and a dessert, all of which should go over in a big way with your Valentine - without making them any bigger.

Despite the fact that study results were released this week indicating that eating a strictly low fat diet will not lower the likelihood of developing cancer or heart disease, companies do not anticipate a decrease in the demand for low fat products.

All that the 8 year study of over 40,000 women proves is that there is no link between a strictly low fat diet and the onset of these diseases. By strictly low fat, I mean that the diets of the study participants did not take into account anything other than the fact that they followed a diet made up of less than 30% calories from fat. They could have had higher than the daily recommended number of calories, never exercised or simply been genetically predisposed to the diseases. In other words, while the low fat diets were not shown to lower the risk factors, they did not raise them.

So, should you still watch the amount of fat you eat?

Over the past few years, the potato has fallen out of fashion with those who watch their weight, due to the popularity of low carb diets. One medium spud, with skin on, has no fat, about 110 calories and 23 grams of carbohydrates. In low carb diet plans, like Atkins, the maximum number of carbs “allowed” daily could be as low as 20 grams. Potatoes were to low carb-ers what heavy cream is to low fat dieters: feared and forbidden. But potatoes are back on the menu now.

Scientists in the UK have developed a low carb potato, the Vivaldi. With a creamy texture, the potato has 38% fewer carbohydrates and 56% fewer calories than a traditional potato. The potatoes are currently available at Sainsbury markets, but it’s only a matter of time before they make their way to the U.S. side of the Atlantic. Carb-conscious french fries could be on menus in the near future, too.