Have you ever thought, I won't eat that, I know it's not good for me and I am really "watching my diet" or maybe it's "I will only have a bite."Whatever food you are trying to "stay away" from, can and will eventually break you down and decrease your willpower!

So I say, have strategies set in place to help you when your willpower leaves you. No one has unlimited willpower, at some point, yours will be shaken! Have a strategy in place to help you get past when willpower isn't enough. It's okay to have those splurges but if they are continuous, that is not going to be good for your long-term fitness goals.

Having strategies set in place to not tempt you will be a great way to help that willpower!

Some good strategies:

1. Don't have foods that you typically overeat in the house if you aren't able to control yourself.

2. Don't let yourself get too hungry, this will definitely lead to overeating, keep healthy snacks on hand.

3. Let yourself have a splurge every once in awhile, remember that 90% rule!

4. Go for a walk to clear your head, most of the time these lapses of willpower have more to do with what's going on mentally than your physical need.

5. Ask yourself, "Is this stomach hunger or mouth hunger?" Am I really hungry for food or am I eating because of something else?

*So this week, set up some strategies to help you succeed! Good luck and go get fit!

To be or not to be...Sore that is?!?

I continually have clients asking me if they should be sore, if they shouldn't be sore and if they should be sore in this place or that place. What seems like it should be an easy answer isn't. Just because you have soreness after a workout doesn't mean you worked harder than the workouts you aren't sore in.

A couple of things are happening to make you sore or not sore: Your muscles are broken-down after a workout, sometimes leading you to feel DOMS (Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness.) You may feel DOMS if: You are working out a new muscle, you are new to working out, you changed the reps to a ton higher or added alot more weight.

You may not feel DOMS if: You are doing new exercises and that muscle group is strong, you are doing a similar workout that your body has learned to adapt to, you are in shape, you took the appropriate measures with nutrition and post-workout rehab for your body or the not desirable one, you aren't working out enough!

So the answer to be or not to be sore, depends on your muscles, your workout, your time working out, how hard you workout, how fit you are and how you treat your body after the workout.

Don't get me wrong, I like to hear I made a client sore, but the good kind of soreness! The best way to measure if you workouts are working for you are: are you getting closer to your goal, are your measurements changing, and how are you feeling physically and mentally? If you are getting closer to your goal, if your measurements are changing and if you are feeling better physically and mentally, then I'ld say your workouts are working for you!

Have a great week and check out my blog for some snack updates and additional nutritional tidbits! http://reachyourfitnessgoals.blogspot.com

Snowed In...

I sat in the house yesterday knowing I probably wasn't heading to the gym because of the snow and ice. As the hours went by, I knew I was feeling lazy and didn't want to workout, but knew I would feel better if I did. So, I promised myself if I did at least 20 minutes that would be enough and sure enough, I completed a 40 minute at home workout and broke a nice sweat!

I think it's so easy to have the excuse of I'm at home, I can't make it to my workout class, I have nothing to workout with...I am going to take all that away and give you an in-home workout almost anyone can do in any space. Try it out for 20 minutes and you just might make it to 30 or 40 and feel pretty good after :-)

*Because not everyone has equipment in their house, this is going to be a bodyweight workout. But, if you have weights, feel free to add them!

Circuit One (Repeat Circuit 2-3X's)

1a. Alternating arm and leg (on hands and knees, extend opp arm and leg out) 15 Reps

1b. Body Bridge Pulses (On back, knees bent, lift one foot straight up in air, push foot on ground up to lift butt off ground) Do 12 Reps each leg, then switch

1c. Pushups (modified or regular-Can also do on couch or chair-Just make sure elbows are going toward back and not flaring out to side) 10-12 Reps

1d. Core Rolls (Legs Bent, feet off ground, Roll to one side of body then other, don't let knees touch ground)

1e. Stairs walks/Runs (For 1 minute walk or run up and down any of your staircases to increase heart rate)

Circuit Two: Repeat 1-2X's

2a. Squats (Feet shoulder-width apart, bend at hips and knees until butt parallel to ground, push-up through heels) 12-15 Reps

2b. Plank hold (On forearms, hold body in a straight-line from head to toes) 30-60 sec

2c. Heel touches (on back, bend knees to a 90 degree angel, feet up, slowly drop one leg until it almost touches floor and is straight, then bring it back to other leg. Repeat with opp leg)

12 Reps each side

2d. Mountain climbers (on hands, shoulders over wrists, bring knees to chest as quickly as possibly, alternating sides) 30-60 seconds

2e. Stairwalk/Runs (60 seconds)