02 Feb 2010 February is already here which means a huge chunk of resolutions have already failed. Is yours still on track? Have you already reached your goal? If not you may have chosen a goal that was too much to handle. If that's the case, there's no shame in taking a step back.

One of the biggest problems with resolutions is that people get too excited about change. They'll set up goals that are way too optimistic and even impossible such as losing 30 pounds in 2 months or running a marathon when they're 50 pounds overweight. You have to start somewhere and making smaller more manageable goals will give you the confidence you need for more meaningful change.

If your resolution was too much to handle, take a step back and reset it. Cut your goal down and make it more realistic. You can give yourself more time or cut down on the actual goal. If you originally wanted to lose 30 pounds in 2 months but soon realized that this was impossible, try losing 5 pounds in 1 month. When you figure out that losing 5 pounds isn't that hard, you'll have the confidence to take bigger steps to eventually losing the entire 30 pounds.

The most important thing to remember is never quit. Even if you have to slow down or accept a smaller change, anything is better than nothing at all. If the choice is between losing weight at a slow pace or going back to your old habits, why would you even think about going back?

06 Jan 2010 Over the past few days and weeks, your eating choices have been less than healthy. They've been so unhealthy, you might have even gained a few pounds. Should you worry about this? Should you work extra hard at the gym to burn the extra weight off? Should you even stress about that unwanted holiday weight?

The answer is no. What you eat during one or two weeks out of the year won't affect you that much. If you're always gorging on holiday food (ham, turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes and cookies) then you might gain a few pounds. Is this a bad thing? It usually isn't as long as it isn't the start of a new low-exercise, high-calorie lifestyle.

What matters isn't the time frame between Christmas and New Year's, it's the time frame between New Year's and Christmas. How you treat your body during the eleven months leading up to the holiday season will determine your health. Treat your body good all year round and you won't have to worry about a few days of pigging out.

16 Apr 2009 Brown fat has been in the news a lot lately and you're probably wondering what it is and more importantly, how it can help you lose weight. Brown fat it's a type of fat that is filled with mitochondria which burn a lot more energy than normal white fat. You can't really use it to lose weight because it's something you don't have any control over. If you go back to your high school biology class, the mitochondria is the power plant of the cell. Since brown fat has a lot more mitochondria than white fat, it burns a lot more energy.

It's thought that the purpose of brown fat is to help keep the body warm, especially in babies by burning fat and converting it to heat. Adults can keep warm by shivering but an infant's ability to shiver is limited. Researchers used to think that once we grew up, we lost most of out brown fat because instead of burning fat, our body could just shiver to stay warm. New studies have shown that some of us keep brown fat well into our adult years. So what does this have to do with weight loss? Nothing, yet. If researchers can figure out a way to stimulate brown fat, it could speed up the body's metabolism which will help burn more calories. Until then, you're stuck with dieting and exercise to lose weight. Sorry.

23 Mar 2009 It's been about two months since our country got a new First Lady and since then, everybody's been going crazy over her body. It seems kind of strange that we would fall in love with a first lady in that sort of way but First Ladies haven't been much to look at recently. We've had Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton and finally Laura Bush so it's no wonder everyone wants Michelle Obama's arms.

To get toned arms, you need to incorporate two new elements into your lifestyle: healthy diet and exercise. The reason that Michelle Obama's arms are toned is because she eats the right amount and kind of foods, and combines that with regular exercise.

Your first step is to fix your diet. Start by figuring out how many calories you need each day. Use the calorie calculator for an estimate. If you don't want to count your calories, you can start eating healthier by cutting all the junk out of your diet. Generally, healthy foods are more filling and lower in calories than unhealthy choices.

Get rid of all the foods that are high in sugar and refined-white flour (chips, white bread/pasta, soda, doughnuts & pastries, candy and most fruit juices). The sugar found in these foods are very likely to be stored as fat making your arms the opposite of toned.

Replace sugary snacks with foods that are high in fiber (100% whole wheat bread/pasta, fruits, vegetables, brown rice and oats). Foods that are high in fiber are digested a lot slower meaning that your body is much less likely to store these calories as fat right away.

Next, you'll need to work on your workout routine. To burn fat you ned to engage in cardiovascular exercise (running, swimming, biking and playing sports). These activities will burn calories and help you get rid of your arm fat. Cardio can be done 3-5 times per week. You also need to build some muscle to get a toned look. If you don't do any strength training, you'll be skinny, not toned.

Sample Arm Workout

• Shoulders
  • dumbbell press
  • barbell upright row
  • rear lateral raise
• Biceps
  • dumbbell curl
  • barbell curl
  • barbell reverse curl
• Triceps
  • close grip bench press
  • cable pushdowns
  • dips

You can do this workout 1-2 times per week. Do 2-3 sets per exercise and pick a weight that will allow you to complete 8-12 repetitions per set. Don't just count up to 8 or 12, if you can do more than 12, raise the weight and if you can't do at least 8, lower it. Your last repetition has to be your real last repetition, when you physically can't complete anymore.

Remember that you can't spot reduce. Your body picks where the weight comes off of and there's nothing you can do to alter this process. A reduced calorie intake that is combined with a good exercise routine will give you Michelle Obama's Arms.

Useful Tools

• Personalized and Complete Free Diet Plan and Workout Routine
• Guide to Reducing Body Fat
• Got any questions? Visit the Diet and Exercise Forums

4 Jan 2009 This is the time of year when everyone rushes out to buy a membership at their local gym. Gyms love January because it's typically the busiest time of the year. This year is unfortunately a bit different from others. With the country facing a recession, people are starting to ask if a gym membership is really necessary to have a successful New Year's Resolution.

No, a gym membership isn't required to lose weight or get into shape. It can definitely help, but if your budget is already tight, paying monthly dues and signing a long term contract isn't affordable. Instead of focusing on exercise that you can only do in a gym, find a few workouts that you don't need any gym equipment for. Running, biking, jump ropes, push ups, pull ups (you can buy some inexpensive home pull up bars), sit ups and even weight lifting with heavy common household objects.

If there is anyway you can afford to become a member of a gym, I'd highly recommend it. It's not so much that the equipment will give you a better workout, but exercising is a lot easier when you have those machines available. You'll get a wider variety of exercises to choose from. Do you really want to exercise outside in the winter? You can also delay buying a gym membership. Plenty of people sign up on January 1st and quit their resolutions. You should start exercising without a gym to see if you can even keep it up. There's no point in spending money on something you won't use.

How to Join a Gym (without getting screwed)

Top 5 Ways to Exercise Without a Gym