Cholesterol

(Not all experts agree on how much protein we need; some would say I don't need to increase my protein intake.) She suggests that I bring a few snacks to work — Kashi energy bars, low-fat cheese, a hard-boiled egg.

At home, I could add more soy milk, tofu, peanut butter or lunch meat.

I don't have to always eat fat-free salad dressing.

I can eat more avocados, olives and nuts.

Cookies are OK sometimes, too.

In fact, she says, athletes should consume 85-90 percent healthy or supportive foods, and the rest can be pleasure foods that add fun and taste to the diet.

No deprivation!

"Know that your body is a calorie-burning machine," she says.

You don't always have to eat the lowest-fat version of foods.

Stay well-hydrated, preferably with water, juice, low-fat milk or soy milk.

Athletes performing for more than 60 minutes should rehydrate with a sports beverage that contains 6-8 percent carbohydrates, because they're using up their available muscle glycogen.

Coffee is OK in limited amounts, but make sure you're also drinking other hydrating beverages, too.

And alcohol is detrimental to performance overall.

As for my worries about gaining weight if I increase my calorie intake?

I can't just add candy bars and ice cream.

I have to do it the right way, and I have to do it slowly.

"If you do it gra...

and Burger King Holdings Inc.

have also said they will phase out trans fat from their products.

KFC said the change in cooking oils will not change how its fried chicken tastes.

"We have safeguarded the recipe and the flavor profile," said Doug Hasselo, KFC's chief food innovation officer.

Hasselo said the new cooking oil costs more, but the chain will absorb the extra expense without passing it along to customers.

The zero grams trans fat items at KFC also include its potato wedges.

Some of KFC's non-fried items still contain trans fat, including biscuits, pot pies, macaroni and cheese, and some desserts.

The company said it's working to remove trans fat from those items.

KFC was unveiling television advertising Monday to promote its switch to cooking oil without trans fat.

KFC stores will put up signs touting the conversion, and the chicken buckets will carry the health message within a week or two.

The company won praise from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer group that pushed for KFC to switch to a healthier cooking oil.

"To get rid of this one major problem improves their customers' health automatically, without the consumers doing anything," said Michael Jacobson, the group's executive director.

Customers at a KFC restaurant in the chain's hometown said they appreciated the change.

Steve Garber, part of a recent lunch...