Sticking to your weight loss plan can be hard work, especially when life throws curve balls at you.  One strategy that you can use to stay on track is to make a pledge to yourself.  Start by writing out your specific long-term goal and short-term goals.  Be sure to list all of the steps necessary to reach your goal such as doing 30 minutes of exercise every day, sleeping 7 hours every night, staying away from sweets, etc.  Once you have written out your entire plan, write up a contract for yourself and sign it.  Hang this contract/pledge somewhere where you will see it often.  Every time you walk by the fridge, the bathroom, or your desk and you see your contract hanging, it will remind you to stay dedicated to your goals. 

Summer is on its way and the weather is heating up.  Many of you may feel sluggish once the warm weather strikes, and it usually takes 4-6 week for your body to acclimate to warmer temperatures.  In order to beat the heat and continue with your exercise routine, it’s important that you prepare by hydrating properly.  You should drink plenty of water throughout the day so that you’re completely hydrated when you do go for your jog.  If the hot weather makes you feel tired and unmotivated, try drinking icy cold water right before you head out to exercise.  The cold water may energize you.  If you’re preparing for outdoor exercise, bring an extra bottle of icy water to spray on your head and neck during your workout.  This will surely help  to keep you cool and to invigorate you.  Once you’re finished, be sure to continue drinking water to replenish the fluids you lost.  Finally, if you have a pool, lake, or ocean nearby, jump in for a rewarding cool-down.

Are you feeling tired and unmotivated from your seasonal allergies?  Springtime allergies are a common roadblock when it comes to outdoor exercise.  Many people complain that hay fever, congestion, and fatigue make exercise impossible.  There are steps you can take to overcome this season’s pollen attack. If you exercise outside, you might want to reschedule your workout for later in the day.  Pollen counts are highest during the morning hours.  Shower as soon as you finish your workout to get all of the pollen off of your body. Some athletes even wear an allergen mask when exercising outside to minimize the amount of pollen they breath in.  If that doesn’t help, you may want to move your workouts indoors until your allergy symptoms improve.  If you’re taking allergy medications, it’s important to drink lots of water since these medications will make you thirsty.  Remember, exercising will increase your energy levels.  If you’re suffering from allergy related fatigue, you will feel a boost of energy after your workout.

There is a common misconception that long slow exercise helps to burn fat the fastest.  The truth is that short interval workouts are the most effective in reducing body fat.  The best part is that you only need 30 minutes to get a great fat blasting working in.  You can do intervals with just about any type of exercises such as jogging, biking, swimming, rowing, functional training, etc.  Let’s use rowing as an example.  Start by rowing easily for 5 minutes to warm up your muscles.  Once warm, you’re going to row as fast as you can for 30-90 seconds depending on your fitness level.  Once your specified interval time is up, you will row easily for the same amount of time for recovery.  Once your recovery period is over, you immediately go into your fast interval again.  Your workout should look something like this: 5 minutes easy, 1 minute hard, 1 minute easy repeat 10 times without stopping, 5 minutes easy, for a total of 30 minutes.  The intervals will help you become stronger and leaner in half the time. 

There is no place more peaceful, beautiful, and relaxing than the beach. So why not work out there? Whether you live on the coast or you vacation on sandy shores, try exercising in the sand.  Beach exercises can include sand jogging, walking, lunging, and squatting.  The sand will work your muscles harder but will actually decrease impact on your joints.  You can also do push- ups, bear walks, crab crawls, burpees, jumping jacks, squat jumps, and planks.  Be creative and try taking any of your workout routine to the sand.  The best part of doing a beach workout is jumping in the water once you are finished. 

Having a partner to exercise with can make workouts much more enjoyable.  However, finding the right person to exercise with will help you get the most from your workouts. The number one characteristic you want to look for in a partner is dedication.  If you choose a friend who often skips sweat sessions, you will be more likely to skip your workouts too.  It works like negative peer pressure.  If Jane calls to say that she’s not making it to the gym today, you will feel that it’s okay to skip yourself.  You also want a workout buddy who has positive energy.  Strength training with someone who complains the entire time will only make your workout harder. It’s also important to partner up with someone who is relatively close in ability to you.  If one person is much slower, weaker, etc. there will be a lot of frustration between both parties.  Last but not least, both partners should be supportive of one another.  When one person is having an off day or didn’t sleep the night before, there is nothing better than having someone there who can push you along. 

You all know how important it is to continue switching up your exercise moves, so let’s try a new core move today.  Plank rolls are awesome because they help to strengthen all of your core muscles while also strengthening your arms, legs, and back at the same time.  You’re going to start in a push up position and you’re going to carefully place your legs on a stability ball.  The ball should be just under your shins.  Make sure your hands are shoulder width apart and your core is tight.  Next, you’re going to raise your glutes and bring your knees toward your chest by rolling the ball towards you.  Finally, roll the ball back to starting position making sure you keep your body in a tight plank position. If rolling up and down is too advanced for you, practice balancing on the ball in a plank position.  If you’re comfortable with rolling, try to complete 3 sets of 8-15 reps. 

Have you ever wanted to start running but felt a bit overwhelmed by starting?  Running is great exercise and can be done just about anywhere.  All you need is a pair of shoes. You can easily start a running program by integrating short periods of jogging  into your walking routine.  It’s important to increase your running frequency, intensity, and duration gradually to decrease injury risk.  Start by walking for 5 minutes and then alternate jogging for 30 seconds and walking for 30-60 seconds, depending on your starting ability.  Try do complete 10-15 30 second jogs, and then finish with 5-10 minutes of easy walking.  As you become stronger, you can increase your jogging segments to 45, 60, 90, etc. seconds.  Eventually, you won’t need to take walk breaks at all. 

Do you usually crave sugary and salty foods after 8:00pm? Well according to a study published in the Journal of Obesity, cravings for junk food peak in the evening.  Researchers are unsure why our hunger levels increase at night but they believe it has evolutionary significance.   So what should you do if these snack cravings cause you to raid the kitchen? First, it’s best to only keep healthy snacks in your kitchen so that you’re not tempted to eat candy and chips.  It is also helpful if you go to bed earlier since your craving may be related to fatigue.  If you do have a snack, don’t eat while watching television or while on the computer. If your mind is distracted, you might overeat. If you often snack at night, you can replace your snacking habit with a healthier nighttime habit such as drinking herbal tea.  Non caffeinated tea has a soothing effect that will help you relax before bedtime. 

Do you pay close attention to your bad habits?  If not, you should start keeping track of those habits in a log book.  Start by making a list of all habits that act as road blocks to your weight loss efforts.  Such habits may be snacking before bed, grazing when you’re not hungry, taking candy from office candy jar, etc.  You also want to identify what makes you engage in these habits.  Write down your triggers such as stress, boredom,

sadness, etc.  Once you have a list of your bad habits and what triggers them, keep a log by writing down times, dates, feelings, and situations in which these habits are occurring.  The more aware you are of your habits, the easier it will be to overcome them and reach your weight loss goals.