I Am NOT an Expert. But Who Really Is?

Where do you look for fitness and health advice?

A few separate things happened today that really got me thinking about this.

First, a friend (and a Regular Guy reader) and I were swapping some general fitness thoughts, and he said, "You know your stuff." That's a compliment, and I don't take it lightly. But I'm no expert. I do a lot of reading, and when I post ideas here, I try to back them up with credible source material. It's a conversation, and as I've said, I am doing this to learn as well as to share my thoughts.

Second, you may have seen the latest "Dr. Oz is a quack" headline: Half of what he recommends on his show is either unsupported by any peer-reviewed research or outright false.

And then I was on Twitter, which I've been using to find more good perspectives on fitness. There's a lot of people serving up click bait or just trying to sell you something. But I thought I'd found a good feed called Calorie? What? Well, I thought. Until I saw a tweet saying you can "never" get enough water. And then one posted a few hours earlier proffering that totally debunked myth that celery is a "negative calorie" food.

Let's face it: It's hard to know what's good information. So what's a Regular Guy supposed to do? Well, here's my take:

• Side with science -- real science. Peer-reviewed, published science. Granted, most of us don't have the time or the expertise to comprehend scientific studies. But the stuff you're reading should be sourcing the real stuff.
• Apply the sniff test. If it doesn't sound right to you, or it sounds too easy to be true, check it out further.
• Talk to your fitness-minded friends. You know, have conversations with other Regular Guys. We don't know everything, but you're buddies aren't trying to sell you anything, and there's stuff that has worked for them.

So, where do you look for fitness and health advice? How do you filter out the crap? Let's hear it!