Vegetables Are Free!

Vegetables are very water-dense which helps make you feel full without a high calorie count. To help with portion control, start both your lunch and dinner meals with a salad. Make sure you have some broccoli, carrot, or cauliflower to help satisfy the "crunch" factor and increase chewing. Chewing more increases the time it takes to eat anything so you are more likely to feel satiated and eat less. Adding a heart healthy fat (dressing) will also satisfy your taste buds and increase your absorption of certain vitamins. Before you know it, you won't consider lunch or dinner complete without a salad.

Watch What You Drink

Most individuals tend to ignore the calories associated with what they drink. Most calorie dense beverages have little nutritional value or are "empty" calories. Choosing only low-or-no calorie drinks makes sense if you are trying to lose weight. To make matters worse, studies show that people we eat as many calories whether they drink the high calorie or no calorie options, so you are thwarting your own efforts. Start with replacing one of your high-calorie drinks with a lower calorie alternative each week and see if you don't see more improvement with your weight loss goals.

Lapses Versus Relapses

It's the holidays and the time is ripe for having a lapse (brief periods of inactivity). Preventing lapses from becoming relapses (extended periods of inactivity) through prevention is key. Keeping these periods of inactivity short will make it easier to get back on track. Even better is identifying your own high-risk situations and proactively develop a plan to deal with them. Having friends and family over can disrupt even the most disciplined person so work on getting exercise in early in the day or plan to incorporate an activity with others throughout the day (walking in the neighborhood, flag football game, ice skating, etc.). Typically, there are preparations necessary for company or a large event, chip in and ask if there are tasks to be completed that may require some physical activity (raking leaves, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming, etc.). Knowing that football and/or other fun spectator sports may be on television, plan to get up during commercials or half-time to move around and stretch. Maintaining the habit of being active is the primary challenge, so even a small amount each day will help keep you focused on your ultimate goals and reinforce the benefits of regular activity.

Exercise and Diet - A Necessary Combo

As a personal trainer, I see individuals wanting to get fit and lose weight only through exercise. Exercise will only go so far without changing eating habits. According to a University of Missouri Study (Men's Health, November 2008), found that participants were able to lose weight through eating management and working out. Both groups were then asked to add 500 calories to their food intake. Half the group kept working out and the other half did not exercise. The results? Both groups gained weight. It goes back to calories in, calories out. Exercise doesn't always change that equation. Exercise can help in balancing the intake and improving overall fitness but to keep the weight off, we all need to watch what we eat.

Hydrate for Better Performance

In order to get the most out of your workout, you want your body to be functioning at it's best and being hydrated is key. How do you determine if you are drinking enough water? Some objective measures to use are:

• Losing more thant 1% of your bodyweight. Weigh yourself first thing in the morning and use the next two items to determine your hydration status.
• Your first urination will tell you the most about how hydrated your are--low volume and dark color indicate dehydration (these can be altered by sweating, so check volume and color before working out).
• If you are thirsty, you need water. If you combine this with weight lose, lower urine volume, and darker urine color you need to up your intake of water.

Experts say to drink at least 1/2 your body water in water (per ounce). I am 120 pounds so I should drink about 60 ounces. Use this as a guideline and cross reference with the three criteria above as everyone is different. For more information, check out the Gatorade Sports Science Institute.