This new Spring weather is so refreshing that I felt inspired to go outside yesterday and do some yard work. While I was raking up dead grass and leaves, I inhaled something and had a crazy allergy attack. My eyes were itchy and I was sneezing like crazy. So I went to take some over the counter Claritin. Since I hadn't used it for over a year, I glanced at the box and realized it had expired in Nov 2007. I popped the pill anyway, since my doctor told me that meds can still be effective up to a year after they expire, and I made a mental note to pick up some more.

Then I wondered what else was lurking in my medicine cabinet. An hour later, I had filled my bathroom garbage with tons of expired crap.

So this weekend, if you're bored, go through your medicine cabinet and your extensive supply of products and. . .

• Get rid of expired over-the-counter medications like old bottles of Advil and Pepto Bismol.
• Chuck all old vitamins or prescriptions like the ones you used two years ago when you had your wisdom teeth pulled.
• Check your condoms too.
• Throw out any makeup that's over three months old.
• Ditch anything that's questionable or that you haven't used in the past year.

Fit's Tips: Make a list of all the new supplies you'll need to buy, and if you know you don't use it much, try not to buy the "Mega-size" bottle of it. If you run out, you can always buy more.

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One of my favorite backbends in yoga is Bow pose. If you have a hard time holding your ankles with your hands, then you won't even be able to feel the amazing stretch in your chest and shoulders. So that's why doing this pose with a friend is so great. This is actually a move your therapist might do with you if you had a Thai massage.

Want to know how to do this pose with a partner? Then read more

You're asking and I'm answering . . .

"Dear Fit,
I have been working out every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday for over a month now. I take a strenuous yoga class on Mondays, run or swim on Wednesdays, and I lift weights on Saturday mornings. The day after my workouts, my muscles are really sore. I thought this would go away after the first week. Will I ever stop feeling sore?"
—Sore Sally

It's great that you are including cardio, strength training, and flexibility training in your workouts, but since you're doing them all on different days, you're working different muscle groups each time you work out. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but it's the cause of your soreness.

If being sore bothers you, you may want to think about changing how you work out. Instead of doing each type of workout on different days, one option is to try incorporating all three — cardio, flexibility training, and strength training — on each day that you workout. Do 30 minutes of cardio (running, biking, walking, etc.), then do 20 minutes of stretching, and then another 20 minutes of strength training. That way you're using all your muscle groups on each day, which will make them stronger so they'll be less likely to be sore the next day. Another option is to work out more often, instead of skipping days, try to do a little exercise five to seven days a week. If none of this helps, you may be pushing yourself too hard in your workouts, so toning it down a little can help prevent soreness as well.

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While I feel that coconut water may be nature's sports drink, I have always been a bit wary of the claims people make about coconut oil. I was happy to read a nutritional explanation of the oil from a source I can trust – Lance's Armstrong's trainer Chris Carmichael. Well, not his trainer exactly, but a nutritionist on Carmichael's team.

The article has lots of great information on coconut oil and here are highlights:

• Coconut oil has relatively high smoke point of 400°F, this makes it stable and ideal for many commercial kitchens and bakeries.
• It has a long shelf life, which is why many food manufacturers are switching to coconut oil to avoid using hydrogenated oils – aka trans fats.
• It is 90 percent saturated fat, and in case you forgot, that is the "bad" fat. But 60 percent of those fats are a form of lauric acid, which is more effectively metabolized than other kinds of fats. This translates into less stored fat. Read this article for a more scientific explanation of this aspect of coconut oil.
• Fats, no matter the type, are not metabolized before carbs, and this oil should not be considered a good fuel for exercise. Unless you are training for super-distance events like ultra marathons (or training sessions over 5 hours).
• The high percentage of artery-clogging saturated fats in coconut oil should not be taken lightly. For comparison, olive oil contain 13 percent saturated fats and canola oil only 7 percent.

All in all, coconut oil doesn't really make the grade. Stick with oils like olive, canola, and grape seed, while the lauric acid content is not as high, they are nutritionally sound. Good to know!

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