Blog Posts by Health.com

Getty ImagesBy Tina Haupert

Joining a new gym is a great way to jump-start your motivation and fitness routine. But the gym can be an intimidating place, especially if you've never joined one before. And it's not just rookies. Even those who are already members can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the plethora of mysterious machines and sea of seemingly in-shape people. Here are some suggestions to help you feel more comfortable at the gym:

Health.com: 10 Fun Ways to Get Fit Without a Gym

Set up an orientation
Most gyms offer new-member orientations when a trainer shows you around, teaching you how to use the equipment. This service is usually free, so be sure to take advantage of it. You'll feel much more comfortable during your workouts.

Remember, the gym isn't just for "fit" people
It's for everyone-no matter what your fitness level, shape, size, age, etc. You're one of the many different people who use the gym, and you're all there with the goal to become healthier-and that's most important.

Getty ImagesBy Tina Haupert

When I gained more than 20 pounds after college, I knew I wasn't taking the best care of myself. I was eating fattening foods (hello, nachos and beer!) and skipping my workouts at the gym, but I didn't know where to start with losing weight.
For most of my life, my weight was never an issue. Counting calories was a foreign concept to me.But I knew if I wanted to lose those unwanted pounds, I needed to do something. Around that same time, a friend of mine told me about Fitday.com, a free online weight-loss journal that tracks calories, exercise, goals, and progress. It made keeping track of what I was eating easy-for the most part.

Foods that clearly stated the serving size (1 slice of bread, 15 crackers) or came in a single-serving package (a 6-ounce container of yogurt, a single granola bar) were easy to track. I just looked at the calorie count and entered it into my online journal. Other foods were a bit more difficult to track, however, such as cereal, pasta,

Getty ImagesBy Anne Marie O'Connor

You know the visit is almost over when your doctor picks up her pen and prescription pad. But before you leave the office, don't forget to bring up this important medical issue: the cost of drugs. If you can't afford to take a medication, it can't benefit your health. And there are many ways to save money on medicine even if you have good insurance. Here are five questions to ask your doctor-and yourself-to save money on prescriptions.

1. Are there any lifestyle changes I can try before starting a drug regimen?
"For many chronic medical problems, treatment should start with lifestyle changes," says Edward Jardini, MD, the author of How to Save on Prescription Drugs: 20 Cost-Saving Methods and a family physician at a private practice in Templeton, Calif., where he was formerly the chair of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and chief of family practice. One of Dr. Jardini's patients, Ernesto (not his real name) was 49 when he developed diabetes in 1999.

Getty ImagesBy Su Reid-St. John

Don't let fall allergies force you into putting your outdoor workouts on hiatus. Steal these symptom-nixing tips from Greenville/Spartanburg, South Carolina-based allergist Neil Kao, MD, known to many as "The Allergy Dude."

Getty Images
By Kate Lowenstein

Recent headlines about contaminated foods, from peanut butter and salad to turkey and eggs, are enough to make even the most intrepid eater a little bit paranoid. But before you commit to a life of vitamins and astronaut ice cream, take comfort in the fact that you'll likely be OK eating as you always have: "We have a very safe food system," says Shelley Feist, executive director of the Partner-ship for Food Safety Education. There are only three foods so risky that you should avoid them altogether. Here's the red-light list:

Raw milk
Fans of raw milk (meaning milk that hasn't been pasteurized or homogenized) credit it with having more beneficial bacteria and enzymes than its processed counterpart, but science hasn't proven any of these claims. And raw milk can become contaminated in a number of ways: by coming into contact with cow feces or bacteria living on the skin of cows, from an infection of the cow's udder, or from dirty equipment, among others. The

Getty ImagesDownload and downsize with these Health-tested picks. By Jessica Girdwain

With a new slim-you-down app born every minute (or so it seems), it's hard to know what's worth your download. And finding the standouts is crucial-a recent survey found 35 percent of us use an app before even getting out of bed in the morning.

We loaded up our smartphones and tablets to find the latest and greatest. Move over, Angry Birds!

Meal Snap
($2.99; mealsnap.com)
This app analyzes a pic of your plate, then gives you a ballpark calorie range. We tried it on a steak, rice, and roasted asparagus plate at the local steakhouse, which clocked in at between 329 and 434 calories (a nicely modest splurge). Why didn't anyone think of this before? (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)

Health.com: 25 ways to cut 500 calories a day

Nike Training Club
(free; iTunes Store)
Create a playlist from your library to sync with one of 73 "coached" circuit routines (or let the app do it for you). We appreciated the countdown toward

By Tammy Worth

Most people know calcium strengthens bones. But there are more than a dozen other ways to fight osteoporosis, the silent, bone-thinning condition that can lead to fractures, back and neck pain, and a loss of up to 6 inches of height over time.

Both men and women can get osteoporosis, but it's more common in women, especially after menopause. About one in five women over age 50 in the United States have it.

Taking preventive measures is key, as many people with osteoporosis will get bone fractures before they even know they have the disease.

David HamsleyBy Norine Dworkin-McDaniel

You eat well and exercise. Get routine checkups. Buckle up in the car. But there's probably still one more item to add to your health to-do list: Get vaccinated. It's not just for the under-18 set. Adults are getting seriously sick from vaccine-preventable diseases like whooping cough (cases of which doubled between 2007 and 2010) and seemingly no-big-deal illnesses like influenza, which causes thousands of U.S. deaths each flu season. The fact is, we've been having our kids immunized successfully for decades in this country, but many of us haven't heard the news that we need to get vaccinated, too. "Many adults don't know what vaccines they're supposed to get," says Deborah F. Wexler, MD, executive director of the Immunization Action Coalition in St. Paul, Minnesota. "They're generally healthy, so they don't go to the doctor much, and they don't hear about it." To keep from missing out on the shots you truly need, ask your doctor about these key vaccines