Nike and Lance Armstrong partnered on a LIVESTRONG Collection holiday gift guide that allows holiday shoppers to support the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) and the ongoing battle to overcome cancer.

The collection includes running and training footwear, apparel, and accessories, and 100% of Nike’s profits from the collection go to the LAF. Nike and Lance have united with LAF supporters Evan Handler, Ben Harper, Elle Fanning, Susan Sarandon, Forrest Whitaker, Lisa Leslie, Hillary Duff, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Dana Delany, Masi Oka, Mark Parker and Robin Roberts, all of whom appear in the gift guide.

As part of the Give 100% promotion, Nike is sponsoring a contest where you can help us identify someone in your life who consistently gives 100%. Whether it’s fundraising, fighting cancer, or being an advocate in the community, tell us about that person for their chance to spend a day with one of the remarkable individuals listed above. (You can read all the rules here.) You can also see some exclusive videos from the photo shoot.

So, tell us about someone you know who Gives 100%! And don’t forget to browse the LIVESTRONG Collection – 100% of the profits go straight to the LAF.

As we mentioned earlier, we’re now seeking “Adopters” to take the reigns on our most popular dares. Dare Adopters can write the welcome messages that greet new dare takers, and they serve as a sort-of Chief Motivator for the other folks who take those dares.

Our first dare adopter is JCH3, who’s now the Adopter for Dare to Quit Smoking! Check out the great work she’s already doing on that dare!

If you’d like to adopt another dare, just let us know. We’re going to keep on improving Dares in the days and weeks ahead — stay tuned!

Check out the Dares directory to see all the dares available. Most dares will have a custom tracker to help track your daily progress as you work to achieve whatever it is you’ve dared to do.

You’ll note right away that Dares are now more community-based, and each individual dare is centered on a unique group. For example, take a look at our hugely popular “Dare to Lose Weight” page.

Most Dares now have a custom tracker to help track your daily progress.

Read it here!

Read more at The Official LIVESTRONG Foundation Blog!

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=295305241&mt=8

The application is completely free, and will allow you to track the foods you eat, the fitness activities you do, and more. Check it out, and let us know what you think!

The greater good
Does requiring restaurants to post the calories of the meal on the menu really make a difference? Will restaurants take notice of how a high-calorie meal affects a customer’s desire to patronize their business? Apparently so—Starbucks claims to have saved the nation 17 billion calories since last October by switching out 2 percent milk instead of whole (but really, what health-conscious person doesn’t request skim anyways, right?), and a large order of French fries from McDonald’s has shrunk from 570 calories to 500 (although Morgan Spurlock may be to blame). The New York Times goes on to say that several restaurants have gone on to reducing portion sizes of their meals to reduce the amount of calories, although it didn’t affect the price.

What if you want to spoil yourself?
Sometimes at the end of the day, I really want to have a treat. I’ve eaten my six 200- to 300-calorie meals but my sweet tooth needs satisfying. Do I really want to know how many calories are in that lemon tart from Le Pain Quotidien? Maybe not, but isn’t being informed better than guessing? I happen to think so. After all, you can just ignore the calories or work them into your caloric budget if you really want to treat yourself.

The State of New York passed the law to fight the growing rate of obesity and diabetes, and it seems that the calorie craze is spreading. California became the first state to force fast-food restaurant chains to post calorie information on menus in September, and there are two proposals moving through Congress that would make calorie postings a requirement nationwide.

So how do you feel about it? I personally believe in calorie counting (I lost 20lbs on The Daily Plate cross my heart), but would YOU want to know how many calories are in your favorite meals, or when it comes to spoiling yourself is ignorance bliss? Let us know in the comments.

But we heard you, and we’ve returned the in-line search box on MyPlate to its place of glory. Enjoy!

Enjoy, Zach! You’ve certainly earned it!

Our own Joe Perez, EVP of Product at our parent company Demand Media, is in Austin for the LIVESTRONG Challenge. (Even though he hates the Longhorns.)

Last night was the Welcome to Texas Dinner at the Salt Lick (Austin’s premiere meat showcase).

        

The Glorious Meat Pit at The Salt Lick

The LIVESTRONG team welcomes all at the Austin Airport.

        

Willie Nelson entertains the crowd last night:

Joe in training before the big run:

After intense carbo-loading and too-few hours of sleep, Joe was ready to take the challenge — along with many, many others!

Spectators:

More racers:

Finally, Joe at the finish line!