Last week we addressed the dangers posed by sugar consumption, which is a topic that Mike Furci has addressed on this site for years. There’s no way to have a “low-fat diet” if you’re also loading up with sugar and carbs.

With that in mind, this is a good time to revisit Mike’s list of banned foods – basically foods you should be avoiding or at least eating less of in your diet. Review the list and print it out, and then over the next week eat as you normally do and write down everything you eat. Then compare it to this list and you’ll see that you probably need some adjustments to your diet.

This is the first step in altering your eating habits by identifying foods you need to replace. Remember, it’s not about counting calories. What you eat is far more important.

As a runner, biker or triathlete, how great would it be to have a navigator with you, offering key information like heart rate, pace, speed and cadence during your workout and letting you know when you’re slacking off or pushing too hard, all without taking your eyes off the road ahead? If you think that’s not happening unless you’re pulling a rickshaw behind you, I suggest a more practical solution: the Sportiiiis heads up display and audio feedback system. From 4iiii Innovations, this lightweight device provides athletes with the kind of performance data they need to improve their workouts and cut down their times, all with just a couple taps of their fingers.

The unit itself is small and simple: Just attach the Sportiiiis system (pronounced “Sport Eyes”) to the arm of your glasses (sunglasses, prescription specs, whatever) using the included mounting bracket, wrap the boom (containing the heads up display) around the front of your glasses, make some final adjustments and it’s all set. The only downside with the setup is that you pretty much need to leave the mounting bracket attached to the glasses you’ve chosen – even when you’re not working out – unless you want to go through the setup process again, but that may only be a minor inconvenience for some users.

So you you’ve got the fully charged Sportiiiiis strapped to your glasses. How does this thing work? Well, you’ll need to put in some study time before hitting the road to fully understand all the bells and whistles. The Sportiiiis synchs with any ANT+ device – like a heart rate monitor, a foot pod or a bike sensor, all of which you can buy from 4iiii Innovations or separately from other manufacturers – to give you the information you want to track during your workout. Just download the user guide and configuration software, set up your profile and determine which “Zones” (heart rate, pace, cadence, etc.) you want the Sportiiiis tracking in conjunction with whichever ANT+ device(s) you’ll be using.

You’re not quite ready yet, though. You’ll cycle through the various settings and readings using a series of touches and taps on the side of the unit. It’s not overly complicated but you won’t just be able to figure it all out on the fly. For example, pressing the power button once starts and stops your session; holding the power button for two beeps turns the unit off; holding it for three beeps switches to bike or run mode; double-tapping the side switches between the paired sensors you’re using. Be sure to put the Sportiiiis through some test runs before taking to the road.

Once you’ve done the homework, though, you’ll see firsthand just how useful this device can be. The display is made up of a series of seven LED lights that indicate where you are in the particular zone you’re tracking. For example, if you’re hitting your target heart rate, the LED blinks green. Fall above or below that mark and different lights flash to let you know it’s time to slow down or pick up the pace. This system is programmable by color and position so you can tweak it to best suit your needs. Additionally, the audio function announces when you’ve successfully switched between zones or modes and can tell you when you’re on target, or above/below, via the tiny speaker at the back of the unit. It’s all pretty cool and, once you get the hang of it, pretty easy to use.

The one drawback is a personal one that will vary from one athlete to the next, since some simply don’t like wearing glasses while they work out. Bikers probably don’t mind at all, but as a runner, I’ve never been a huge fan of wearing shades on the road – all that bouncing around can get on my nerves. The Sportiiiis, however, may very well make me reconsider that stance, particularly during an important training run. I’d probably leave the unit at home for simple maintenance runs, but for those who like to have all of their metrics available to them on the go, there may not be a better solution than the Sportiiiis.

If you’ve been a regular reader of Mike Furci, Bullz-Eye.com’s Fitness Editor, you’ve known for a long time that you should be limiting the amount of sugar and simple carbohydrates in your diet. The dangers of sugar consumption are now getting much more attention, and a recent “60 Minutes” story is getting a lot of attention.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta discusses the dangers of sugar with Dr. Robert H. Lustig, who explains how many of our health problems like obesity and Type 2 diabetes. His YouTube video, “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” has over 2.5 million views.

This isn’t just about the table sugar you put in your coffee. Most processed foods you buy at the store are loaded with sugars or high fructose corn syrup (which is basically the same thing as sugar). The biggest offender has to be soft drinks, which are probably the worst thing you can have in your regular diet.

As Mike has said for years, it’s not just about calories. You have to pay attention to what types of calories you are consuming.

Watch both of these videos and you’ll gain some perspective on your own diet and health. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a cola or a pastry from time to time, but if these are regular parts of your diet, then you need to start making changes. You’ll love how you feel and look with some of these simple changes, and in the long run you’ll be much healthier as well.

Just when you think you’ve seen or heard of every angle to pitch a so-called energy drink, you hear another one. “Drink this to enlarge your wiener.” “Drink this to make women want you.” “Drink this to be (insert celebrity here).” But here’s a new one: “Drinking a can of Celsius will actually burn calories, just by drinking it.”

“Yeah right,” I thought. I grew up in the Tony Little and Body by Jake (or Body by “Joke,” as a former boss in the fitness industry used to say) era of amazing fitness products that showed results within milliseconds of actually using them.

It sounded too gimmicky, so I looked at the research (which was easy to find on the company’s website), and I was pleased to see that there were seven specific studies which definitely meant the product wasn’t hiding things, making outrageous claims and then heading for the hills.

According to one study, consuming a single can of Celsius burns an average of over 100 calories in the following three hours, and the average person experienced an increase in metabolism of 12% in that same period. An additional study stated that over a 10-week period, men and women who used Celsius showed 93% greater fat loss, 50% more muscle gain, 62% better cardio fitness and 32% increased endurance compared to the group drinking the placebo.

The core of Celsius is its formula called MetaPlus, which is a blend of ingredients designed to work together to increase calorie burning over a three-hour period, specifically. The mix itself is a proprietary blend made by Celsius, but it also includes healthy ingredients lime Green Tea, Ginger, Caffeine, Guarana (not to be confused with the Santana song “Guajira”) and vitamins B and C.

There are eight different flavors of Celsius available: Sparkling Orange, Wild Berry and Cola are all carbonated; Green Tea Raspberry Acai, Lemon Iced Tea, Strawberry-Kiwi and Outrageous Orange are all non-carbonated; and there’s an Apple Orchard Blend which is naturally sweetened and non-carbonated.

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Did you read Mike Furci’s recent article about getting in shape for summer? If you’ve hit the pool and weren’t happy with how you looked without a shirt, then you might want to give it a read. You should check out the entire article, but here are Mike’s nutrition principles for consistent, healthy eating that will help you get lean and mean.

If you’re hungry, eat. If you’re not, don’t.

Under no circumstances should you count calories, ever.

Avoid calorie-dense fast foods. (Mainly processed, fast foods, fruit juice, soda pop and other high-carb foods.)

Plan your meals, and prepare your food in advance. This is perhaps the single biggest contributor to consistent healthy eating. You’re less likely to fall off the wagon if there is quality food already made.

Eat at least four meals per day. Your goal should be to eat six times per day, once every two to three hours. A healthy snack, e.g., vegetables, cottage cheese, sugar-free yogurt, etc., is considered a meal.

Make sure to eat a portion of protein with every meal. If your meal consists of a starchy carb, always consume a bit of your protein first. This ensures a lower glycemic index for the meal and will curb eating too many carbs.

A portion of protein is four to eight ounces, or a portion is about the size of the palm of your hand or a clenched fist.

Choose carbohydrates that are on the lower end of the glycemic index. Refer to the Approved Foods chart.

Whenever time is of the essence, use meal replacement packs, protein powders and drinks, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc. This takes the guesswork out of meal planning during a busy day.

Use natural unprocessed fats and oils for cooking and salad dressings. Avoid using, or strictly limit, your consumption of polyunsaturated fats (vegetable oils) and never cook with them.

If you want to get healthy, look better and feel better, you need to learn more about how to eat. Read this article and then read Mike’s columns regularly.