Where are you at?!?

Well, it's been three full weeks of working on that New Year's resolution!

Where are you at?

Have you been getting in more healthy snacks, have you been taking time to get your workouts in?

If you are exactly where you want to be in regards to staying on track, good for you, if not, don't get down on yourself, just get back on track!

It's so easy to follow that slippery-slope of, "Well I slipped up yesterday and it is the weekend so..." that thinking gets you no-where, except to feeling guilty on Monday. And the guilt trip you give yourself does even worse things for you mentally.

So instead of feeling bad for yourself because you aren't where you want to be or you had a "bad" weekend, say today I'm going to do something good for myself. It doesn't matter if it's walking on your lunch break or eating a salad with chicken instead of Mac n Cheese, just make it a positive change!

Try not to let your past indiscretions get in the way of the positive effects you can have on your new healthy lifestyle.

So, wherever you are coming from, whether it be, right on track with your health and fitness goals, or feeling like you need to step-it-up, you can do it one small change at a time.

Be good to yourself, this healthy lifestyle thing, is just that, a lifestyle, a change you are making for the good!

*View my healthy snack and jacktoid of the week!

Should your cardio and weight program be kept separate? Is it better to have "weight" days and "cardio" days or is it beneficial to combine your programs. The most effective workout you can do is one that boosts your metabolism, works your large muscle groups, and gets your heartrate pumping.

One of the most effective ways to do this is through circuit training. Circuit training combines short-burst of high intensity cardio with strenth training for major muscle groups. It elevates the heartrate, helping you burn calories during the workout and for hours after while your muscles repair themselves. High intenisty cardio can be done in any mode, but the goal is to get yourself out of breath and to not be able to maintain it for more then 30 to 60 seconds. This type of cardio although it is "short" helps to burn more calories then steady-state cardio. It helps to boost your metabolism during and after your workout.

This is not to say that going on a 3-mile jog or going for a bike ride is not beneficial, they definitely are needed. Ulitmately, when your goal is fat-loss, high calorie burn, and you don't have hours on end to exercise, circuit training is going to be most efficient and fun!

So if you aren't already doing it, start including intervals into your workouts, and to really benefit add cardio ("sprints") to your weight workout.

It's that time of year again...

The time when we make resolutions that we promise to keep.

The time when we feel refreshed, rejeuvenated, like we can accomplish anything!

It also can be seen as the time when we over promise ourselves something.

A time when we become extremists to only push ourselves to what some people call "cheating."

I challenge you this new year to make yourself a promise to focus on a healthier you, a fitter you, a better you. Try to take the focus off of "losing this weight" or "not eating so much dessert" to "getting more exercise in" and "eating more vegetables and lean proteins"

I think sometimes we let our focus for our "resolutions" become negative and then we berate ourselves when we don't get 5 workouts in that week or we ate that ice cream last night.

Try to keep your focus positive and yourself honest. You may not have time or energy to get all those workouts in and you may want dessert a certain night, that's okay, that's what we call letting ourselves splurge. Just don't let the splurges get out of control and most importantly, bring it back to the resolution of "I want to be a healthier, more fit me!"

So, here's to a healthier and happier, both physcially and mentally you, all year-round-not only until March :-) Be good to yourself and know that you are working on a lifestyle change!!

In good health!

Jackie Byrne