Rules of Fives

With all the holiday parties and rich food available this time of year, holiday eating can easily turn to overeating. To avoid eating too much, keep in mind the Rule of Fives.

• Count to FIVE. Taking food that's in front of you can be almost automatic. It's easy to eat calories without even realizing. Next time you reach for something, press "pause" and ask yourself if you really want or need it.
• Stay FIVE Feet from the Food Table. When you are at a party or social gathering, if you stay close to the food table, you are more likely to keep snacking. Dish yourself a small plate and then try to stay at least five feet from the food.
• Wait FIVE minutes before going back for seconds. Oftentimes food tastes so good, we go back for more before we've even had time to let the first helping settle. Allow yourself five minutes after eating and then determine if you still really want that second helping.

Fitness Wish List

What is on your wish list for this Christmas? This holiday season rather than just wishing for the latest and greatest electronic device, add a few fitness goals! Taking the time right now to create goals, or wishes, will help you stay on track during the holiday season.

A goal is a wish that you are dedicated to; therefore, you plan and work for it. Follow these goal setting tips to help make your wish come true:

1. Think of a fitness wish and write it down. Be specific. Rather than just saying “I wish that I won’t gain any weight this holiday season”, add details to your goal. A goal should be specific and well-written so that you know exactly what you are aiming for.

2. Be honest and realistic. Are you really willing to not eat any sweets this holiday season? If not, don’t make that your goal! Give yourself an exact number of sweets or a specific type of desserts you may eat.

3. Tell your friends and family your goals and ask them to help you. Achieving goals takes more than your will power! By telling your friends and family your goals, you now have a support system to help you when you feel like giving up.

4. It is very motivating to see what you have accomplished. Find a way to track your progress. This way not only will you see what you have left to do, but also what you have already done.

Fiber

Fiber

Fiber is the indigestible portion of plant food. Fiber is a nutrient that has a lot of health benefits, namely:

• Prevents health issues such as heart disease, some cancers, and digestive problems
• Increases feelings of fullness (which can help with weight loss)
• Can aid in lowering cholesterol

Snacks throughout the day are great for increasing your fiber. This week try a new, high fiber snack each day.

• Day 1: Eat a whole grain, unsweetened cereal with at least 4 grams of fiber a serving. Or mix it into your regular cereal.
• Day 2: Eat two apples today.
• Day 3: Take on container of yogurt and mix 1/3 cup All-bran cereal, 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds, and 5 large, diced strawberries. This yummy yogurt mix gives you a whopping 12.2 grams of fiber- nearly half your daily allowance!
• Day 4: Dip baby carrots and broccoli florets into low-fat ranch dressing.
• Day 5: Snack on whole grain crackers.
• Day 6: Snack on a side salad with kidney beans or chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) on top.
• Day 7: Mix together peanuts, raisins, a high-fiber cereal like All-Bran, and some chocolate covered soy nuts.

Holiday Maintenance

Every year millions of people indulge in the holiday spirit by also indulging in rich holiday foods. Most use the excuse that "it's the holidays" and "I'll start my diet with the New Year," as they throw their self control out the window.

However, it doesn't have to be all or nothing. One can enjoy the the savory and sweet foods that surround the holidays without over-indulging. It's okay to allow yourself an occasional extra scoop or a dessert. Just don't make it a daily December ritual. When you are enjoying festivities or neighborly treats, try to do so in moderation. And when you are away from the merry-making, make a conscious effort to eat right.

You may not lose weight or increase your fitness level over the holidays, but you can certainly set a goal to maintain it!

Sleep Better

We all know from experience how important sleep is! Getting a good night’s rest can help improve your mood and your health. The Better Sleep Council has eight guidelines to help you get a better night’s sleep:

1. Keep regular sleep hours
2. Cut down on stimulants such as coffee, soft drinks, and medications that may contain caffeine
3. Sleep on a good bed
4. Don’t smoke
5. Drink alcohol in moderation or not at all
6. Set aside a planning or "worry" time earlier in the day
7. Don’t go to bed stuffed or starved
8. Exercise regularly

According to the Better Sleep Council, “Exercise enhances sleep by burning off the tensions that accumulate during the day, allowing the body and mind to unwind. While the fit seem to sleep better and deeper…you don’t have to push to utter exhaustion. A 20- to 30- minute walk, jog, swim or bicycle ride at least three days a week…should be your goal. But don’t wait too late in the day to exercise. In the evening, you should be concentrating on winding down rather than working up a sweat…The ideal exercise time is late afternoon or early evening, when your workout can help you shift gears from daytime pressures to evening pleasures.”

Recovery

Many people still believe the “No Pain, No Gain” saying which implies that you can never work too hard. However, this myth disregards the importance of recovery. In order for our bodies to receive the benefits of exercise, we must allow our bodies time to recover. During exercise we break down our muscles and then during recovery our bodies rebuild stronger in order to meet the new demands.

Overtraining is the imbalance of training and recovery. Some of the signs and symptoms are as follows:

• Chronic fatigue
• Lowered self-esteem
• Feelings of depression
• Difficulty concentrating
• Decreased performance
• Increased heart rate at set workload
• Increased rates of infection
• Loss of appetite

To prevent overtraining, follow a well-balanced, progressive training schedule. Then be sure to listen to your body; if you feel like taking a day off or taking it easy, do it!

Kickboxing

Kickboxing is a popular cardio class workout at gyms across the nation. Kickboxing combines boxing, martial arts, and aerobics into a high-intensity, total-body workout. A typical aerobic kickboxing workout includes a series of repetitive punches and kicks.

Initially the moves may seem awkward, but with practice it will quickly become natural and fun. Focus on using and maintaining proper technique. To avoid injury ask your instructor any questions you have about technique. Also, be sure to avoid these common mistakes for beginners:

• Wearing weights or holding dumbbells when throwing punches
• Locking your joints when throwing kicks or punches
• Overextending kicks (beginners should avoid high kicks until they get used to the routine and become more flexible)
• Giving in to group peer pressure and exercising beyond fatigue

Most kickboxing classes are about 50-60 minutes; therefore, when you start off be sure you ease into it. If you start feeling overly exhausted, it may be time to slow down or stop. As your fitness level improves, you will gradually be able to exercise at a higher intensity and for a longer period of time.

My Food-a-Pedia

he USDA has created a new tool for MyPyramid.gov called MyFood-a-pedia.

MyFood-a-pedia has some great features, including:

• You can look-up the calories in a specific food
• You can see what MyPyramid food group a food is in and how much of the daily requirements it accounts for
• You can compare two foods

Take a few minutes to play around with this informative and simple tool. You can find it at http://www.myfoodapedia.gov/.

At Home Workout

Some days, despite your best efforts, you can’t manage to get out the door to exercise. Whether it is poor weather, a sick child home from school, working late, or just a busy day, it's always nice to have some options of exercises you can squeeze in at home.

The following at-home workout was designed by the American Council on Exercise. It delivers a total body workout and requires NO equipment. http://www.acefitness.org/workouts/13/#program

Begin and end the work-out with a 5-10 minute cardiovascular warm-up that can be done by walking up and down stairs, doing jumping jacks, or jogging in place. Then follow the prescribed warm-up, work-out, and cool-down.

Keeping a Food Log

There is a weight loss phrase that says, “If you bite it, you write it”!

Keeping a food log has been proven to be a great weight loss tool. Even if you aren’t trying to lose weight, a food log can help you ensure that you are eating a variety of healthy food.

Begin by writing down EVERYTHING you eat (yes, that includes the M&Ms you grabbed when no one was looking)! You will be surprised by how the mere act of writing it down will deter you from snacking when you are not really hungry. If you are accountable for those M&Ms, they suddenly seem less appetizing.

Take it one step further by including HOW MUCH of the food you are eating. This will help you make sure you are keeping your portion size in line with the correct serving size.

Review your food log once a week and set a nutrition goal for the next week. For example, if you didn’t meet the dietary requirements for the vegetable group then make that your goal for the upcoming week. Focus on improving your diet gradually by make small changes each week.

Take it one step further by entering your food log into the MyPyramid Tracker http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/ The MyPyramid Tracker is an online assessment tool that will analyze your food intake for you!

Barriers to Exercise

An exercise barrier is something that prevents you from exercising. The 10 most common reasons adults cite for not adopting more physically active lifestyles are:

1. Do not have enough time to exercise (consistently the number one reason people give)
2. Find it inconvenient to exercise
3. Lack self-motivation
4. Do not find exercise enjoyable
5. Find exercise boring
6. Lack confidence in their ability to be physically active
7. Fear being injured or have been injured recently
8. Lack self-management skills, such as the ability to set personal goals, monitor progress, or reward program toward such goals
9. Lack encouragement, support, or companionship from family and friends
10. Do not have parks, sidewalks, bicycle trails, or safe and pleasant walking paths convenient to their homes or offices

What barrier do you most relate too? Now brainstorm some ideas on how to break down that barrier!

Colorful Eating

The USDA recommends 4-5 cups of fruits and vegetables daily. In addition to quantity, it is important to eat a variety of fruits and veggies. To do this, some experts recommend focusing on color.

The fruit/vegetable color groups are:

• Blue/purple
• Green
• White
• Yellow/Orange
• Red

Each color group provides different nutrients that your body needs. By eating a several different colors of fruits and veggies throughout the week, you will be getting the variety of nutrients each group offers.

Jump Rope

Looking for a new exercise? Jumping rope is an oldie, but goodie. Jump rope is one of the most effective cardiovascular exercises. It is inexpensive, can be performed almost anywhere, and is fairly easy to do.

To find the right size rope for you, step on the center of the rope with one foot. When holding the handles up, they should come to chest level.

Below are a few tips for using a jump rope:

• Keep your back straight with your head up
• Keep your shoulders back; don't hunch
• Keep your elbows close to the body
• Focus on a soft landing. Use your muscles to brace your impact rather than jarring those joints.

Once you have the basics down, you can get creative! Knee jumps, scissor jumps, one-foot jumps, etc. The possibilities go on and on!

Family Activities

Recent data suggests that over 1/3 of today's youth are overweight or obese. Spending quality family time doing physical activities together is one key to reduction and prevention.

Here are just a few ideas:

• Go for a bike ride
• Play at the park, on a jungle gym, or monkey bars
• Jump on a trampoline
• Go swimming
• Play a game of tag
• Kick or throw a ball
• Turn on music and dance

Be creative! Physical activity doesn't have to be conventional.

Keep in mind that kids should get at least one hour of physical activity per day.

Take a Break!

While exercise is important for all and training is essential for any athlete, it is also okay to take a break every once in a while. Rest is an important principle of exercise.

When strength training, you should allow yourself 48 hours before working those same muscle groups again. Even when performing cardio exercises, such as running or biking, it is a good idea to rest at least one day a week.

Rest allows your muscles to adequately repair themselves. Continuous or prolonged use without the time to fully rest and rebuild can actually weaken muscles, ligaments, and tendons and lead to injury.

Psychologically, rest also allows you to re-energize and prepare for future workouts.

Benefits of Yoga

Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years. There are many yoga styles that range from extremely athletic to peaceful and relaxing. No matter the style, yoga has several benefits.

• Flexibility: Most poses focus on stretching and elongating the muscles.
• Strength: Movements often require a static muscle contraction that can increase one's strength and endurance.
• Posture: Proper posture is emphasized in yoga, which can transfer to one's daily posture.
• Balance: Many poses focus on improving balance.
• Relaxation: Yoga is often as much about deep breathing and the release of tension as going through the movements.

Eating for Exercise

When exercising it is important to fuel your body right so you can have the energy you need to perform well.

Before Exercise

Since your body relies mainly on carbohydrates for fuel, eat a small meal or snack that includes a mix of simple and complex carbohydrates. This is particularly important if you exercise in the morning. Examples include a granola bar, bagel, or small bowl of cereal or oatmeal. Try to eat 30-60 minutes before exercising so your food has time to settle.

After Exercise

After exercise it is important to refuel quickly. Try to eat something within an hour of exercising. A post-exercise meal or snack should include carbohydrates and protein. Carbohydrates will help replace your energy stores. Protein is necessary to help rebuild and repair muscle that was worked during an exercise session.

Heat Stroke

Exercising in the heat can put you at risk for heat-related illnesses. Minor heat-related illnesses, such as heat exhaustion and heat cramps, can be treated on one's own. More serious illnesses, such as heat stroke, require medical attention.

Heat Stroke occurs when your body can no longer regulate its temperature and becomes extremely overheated. Heat stroke is a serious condition that can lead to permanent disability or even death.

Signs of heat stroke include:

• High body temperature (103F or above)
• Lack of sweating
• Headache
• Confusion
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Throbbing pulse
• Unconsciousness

To treat heat stroke, call for medical assistance as soon as possible. Then make every effort to cool the body. Cooling methods can include a cool bath or shower, wrapping a cool, wet towel or sheet around the person, and fanning him/her.

Do NOT give the victim anything to drink.

Heat Exhaustion

Exercising in the heat can put you at risk for heat-related illnesses. Heat illness occurs when the body cannot sufficiently cool itself. In extreme temperatures or high humidity, your body's normal cooling system (sweating) may not be enough.

Heat Cramps are muscle pain or spasms in the arms, legs, or abdomen, often caused by a low salt level.

Heat Exhaustion may involve fatigue, dizziness, headache, and nausea. It is generally caused by prolonged heat exposure, dehydration, and loss of salt.

Heat cramps and heat exhaustion are considered milder heat-related illnesses. To treat:

• Stop activity and rest, preferably in a cool or air-conditioned place.
• Drink clear juices or sports drinks to replenish electrolytes.
• Take a cool bath or shower.
• Seek medical treatment if symptoms worsen or last longer than one hour.

Beat the Heat

It's summertime and exercising in the heat may be unavoidable. When exercising in the heat, it's important to take proper precautions to prevent heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Below are some tips and hints for exercising in the heat.

1. Stay hydrated! Be sure to drink plenty of fluids before, during, and after a workout.
2. If exercising longer than an hour, or sweating excessively, consider re-hydrating with a sports drink that will also replenish lost electrolytes.
3. Wear light weight, light colored clothing.
4. Wear sunscreen. Even on overcast days you can get sunburned.
5. Slow down. On hot days you may need to reduce your intensity in order to compensate for the heat.
6. If necessary, find an alternative, such as changing your activity or exercising indoors.

FITT Principles

The FITT principles are an exercise prescription to help participants understand how long and how hard they should exercise.

FITT is acronym that stands for Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type. FITT can be applied to exercise in general or specific components of exercise. For example, below are some general FITT guidelines for weekly exercise.

Frequency: Daily moderate exercise is ideal, but try to exercise a minimum of 3-5 days per week.

Intensity: Moderate to vigorous intensity exercise is recommended for adults.

Time: 30-60 minutes per day.

Type: To maintain a well-balanced fitness level, perform a variety of exercises included cardio, strength, and flexibility training.

Step by Step

Walking is a good physical activity and something that is easy and convenient for most people. But, how far should you walk? How many steps should you take?

If walking is your exercise of choice, it is recommend that you get a minimum of 30 minutes per day--although 60 minutes would be ideal.

If you'd like to track your total steps taken, you may wish to use a pedometer. Try wearing the pedometer for the entire day, not just when exercising. See how many steps you take throughout the day.

If you have been previously inactive, a good goal would be 5,000 steps. For others, experts recommend at least 10,000 steps per day.

Fitness Log

An exercise log can be an important tool in helping you plan and maintain your exercise program.

A fitness log is a great way to track your progress. You can easily look back and see how you have progressed over time. In addition, it can help you plan and prepare for future workouts, as well as identify patterns of what seems to work well for you and when you have the most success.

On an exercise log, you should minimally include information about the type of workout, length, and intensity. But you can also include additional information such as the following:

• Food & hydration
• The route you took
• Distance
• Shoes or clothes worn
• Approximate calories burned
• Weight
• Weather
• Attitude
• Illness or injury
• Personal bests
• Thoughts and feelings about your workout

Have a Snack

Snacking is often looked on negatively, but it is not a bad thing. In fact, snacking can actually help you better control your appetite and weight.

When you allow yourself to become too hungry in between meals, you often overeat at your next meal. Eating small, healthy snacks between meals can keep you from getting overly hunger.

If you have a hard time making it from lunch to dinner, plan in an afternoon snack. A good example of a snack might be a low-fat yogurt, dried or fresh fruit, nuts, trail mix, or a granola bar.

Over Training

Is there such a thing as too much exercise? Yes!

Repeatedly performing the same exercises too often or training at high intensities with few rest days can lead to over training.

While some people think the more the merrier, excessive exercise can actually lead to decreased performance and muscle injury rather than increased strength and stamina. Other symptoms include exhaustion, prolonged recovery times, poor coordination, headaches, disturbed sleep patterns, agitation, and depression.

Brain Power

We know that exercise makes our bodies stronger, but our minds?

That's right! Research has shown that exercise can improve cognitive function. This includes increased learning, improved memory, faster reaction times, and improved ability to establish schedules and switch between tasks, or multitask.

Not only does exercise improve brain function, but it has also been shown to combat against cognitive decline, or aging of the brain.

Specificity

The Principle of Specificity maintains that if you want to see specific results, you should perform exercises that are specific to those results.

For example, if you want to increase your bicep strength, you should perform bicep exercises. If you want to run a 5K race, you should train by running. If you want to improve in a specific sport, you should perform exercises that are specific to that sport..

This principle, though simple, is important to keep in mind if there are specific results you want to see from your workouts.

Individuality

The Principle of Individuality maintains that no two individuals will benefit from exercise exactly the same way physically or psychologically. Differences in genetics, age, experience, body size, and health status can all affect the outcomes of a workout.

Keeping this in mind can be important when training with a buddy or a group. Don't fret if you don't see the same results at the same time as others.

Flexibility

Flexibility is an often neglected component of physical fitness; yet, it is important to maintain proper posture, prevent injury, and reduce muscle soreness and tension.

Stretching is an ideal way to improve flexibility. The best time to stretch is at the end of a workout, when one's muscles are warm and more pliable.

The American Council on Exercise recommends stretching for 30 minutes 3 times per week to improve and maintain flexibility, or stretching a minimum of 5-10 minutes at the end of every exercise session.

Strength Training

Strength or Resistance Training is any type of exercise in which your muscles are working against a force. Examples include using free weights, weight machines, a resistance band, or even gravity.

Strength training should ideally be done 2-4 days per week--allowing for a 48 hour rest period before working the same muscle groups again.

A typical strength training program involves performing 10-15 repetitions in 2-3 sets, with a few minutes rest in between sets. However, any amount of resistance training can be beneficial.

Cross Training

Cross training is simply the idea of performing a variety of exercises to work different muscle groups in different ways. An ideal cross-training program involves various aerobic, strength, and flexibility training exercises.

For an athlete, cross training can help one improve in his sport, as well as maintain muscle balance and flexibility.

For example, a runner mainly performs cardiovascular activity using his legs. The following are examples of cross training activities helpful for runners.

1. Stretching regularly is important to maintain flexibility and prevent injury.

2. Strength training of the legs can increase speed and power. Upper body strength training is also important so the upper body muscles are not neglected.

3. Other cardio activities, such as biking, can be good cross training activities. Although biking also focuses on the legs, it uses the muscles differently and with less impact.

Overload

The more you do the same exercises, the better your body will be able to perform them and the less work it will take. In order to continually improve your fitness level, it is important to consider the principle of overload.

Overload is the idea of continually increasing one element of your workout, such as time, intensity, or resistance.

Here are two examples:

1. If you walk one mile at the same pace every day, your body will become used to that exercise over time. In order to progress, try increasing your speed, distance, or adding light ankle or hand weights.

2. If you start a resistance program doing bicep curls with 5 lb weights, it may initially be difficult. However, once it becomes easier, it is time to increase your weight, sets, or repetitions.

Cool Down

The cool down has vital physiological functions. When your heart rate is increased from exercise and you suddenly stop your activity, the blood flow rapidly decreases, which can cause blood to pool in your feet.

Since blood carries oxygen to your brain, heart, and muscles, it is vital to decrease your exercise intensity slowly and keep the blood flowing evenly.

The cool down also allows your muscles to cool down slowly. Without a cool down period, muscles may cool down rapidly and tighten up. This can lead to muscle stiffness and soreness.

To properly cool down, decrease to a light intensity level until your breathing and heart rate have slowed. The cool down is also an excellent time to stretch.

Heart Healthy Exercise

Cardiovascular, or aerobic, fitness is the ability to sustain moderate to high intensity activity over an extended period of time. Activities in which the large muscles of the body are in constant or almost constant motion are considered aerobic. Generally your heart rate and breathing increase for a sustained period of time.

In addition to being good for burring calories, aerobic activity is particularly good for your heart. The heart is a muscle; just like any other muscle, it grows stronger with frequent use. A well conditioned heart is able to pump more blood and oxygen to the body and maintain a higher rate for longer periods of time. That is why aerobic activities are also known as “Heart Healthy” exercise.

Examples of aerobic activities include running, walking, swimming, biking, and dance.

Spot Reduction Myth

We often hear advertisements for ways to burn fat from just your mid-section, glutes, or other problem areas. However, as much as we'd all love to target fat on the abdomen, glutes, hips, thighs, or underarms, there is no such thing as spot reduction. That means you can't burn fat from just one specific spot on your body.

Exercise in specific areas of your body may increase your muscle strength or endurance in those areas. However, fat is generally reduced throughout the entire body, not just one spot.

The best way to reduce overall body fat is to eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly.

Warm Up

Why warm-up? According to the American Council on Exercise, a warm up does the following:

1. Leads to efficient calorie burning by increasing your core body temperature
2. Produces faster, more forceful muscle contractions
3. Increases your metabolic rate so oxygen is delivered to the working muscles more quickly
4. Prevents injuries by improving the elasticity of your muscles
5. Gives you better muscle control by speeding up your neural message pathways to the muscles
6. Allows you to work out comfortably longer because all your energy systems are able to adjust to exercise, preventing the buildup of lactic acid in the blood
7. Improves joint range of motion
8. Psychologically prepares you for higher intensities by increasing your arousal and focus on exercise

Talk Test

If you don't want to track your heart rate, there are other ways to determine your intensity during exercise. One method is the talk test.

When you are exercising at a moderate intensity level, you shouldn't be so winded that you cannot talk. You should still be able to carry on a conversation with your workout partner. However, you should be working hard enough that you do not have enough breath to sing.

If you are doing intervals or performing at a more vigorous intensity level, your ability to hold a fluent conversation may be more stilted.

Intensity & Heart Rate

How do you know if you are working too hard or not hard enough? Tracking your heart rate is one way to determine your intensity.

To calculate your Exercising Heart Rate:

• Pause
• Find your pulse, preferably in your neck
• Count the number of beats in 15 seconds
• Multiply that number by 4

What does it mean? First determine your Age-Predicted Maximal Heart Rate by using the equation below:

220- your age = Your Age-Predicted Maximal Heart Rate

Your Target Heart Rate Zone is 60-85% of your Age-Predicted Maximal Heart Rate. When performing cardiovascular activity, your exercising heart rate should fall in this zone.

Slow & Steady

When it comes to exercise, most people still believe in the philosophy of “no pain, no gain.” While it can be nice to feel that muscle burn during a workout, you do not want the after-affects of exercise to cripple you for days after.

Going full force or pushing too hard when beginning an exercise program can lead to soreness and injury. This can also be discouraging when you are trying to get into a regular exercise schedule, as it’s difficult to be motivated to exercise if you can still barely move from your workout two days ago!

When starting a new exercise program, or even just a new exercise, start slowly and increase your time and intensity gradually over time.

Cardio Workouts

Cardiorespiratory, or aerobic, activity is recommended on a daily basis. In order to improve your level of cardio fitness, your workouts should include a minimum of 20-30 minutes of aerobic activity at least three to four times per week.

Aerobic activities are activities in which you are in constant motion and can sustain an elevated heart rate over a period of time. They include, but are not limited to, running, walking, swimming, dance, cross-country skiing, and several kinds of sports. There are so many different types of aerobic activities that if you feel yourself getting in a “rut,” spice things up by trying something new!

Exercising in the Cold

During these winter months, you should take extra precautions if exercising outdoors or in the cold. Below are some tips for exercising in the cold.

• Dress in layers so you can easily add or remove clothing as needed.
• Choose fabrics that wick sweat away rather than absorb. Avoid cotton.
• You lose a large amount of body heat through your head, so wear a hat or keep your head covered to help you stay warm.
• Your extremities (hands and feet) receive the least amount of circulation when you are cold, so make sure they are properly covered to prevent frostbite.

Exercising in the Dark

Whether early morning or evening, if you want to exercise outside during the winter months, you may end up exercising in the dark. Below are some tips for exercising in the dark.

• Be sure to wear light colors, a reflective vest, or carry a light.
• Watch out for traffic, as drivers may have a harder time seeing you.
• Try to avoid unlit, sparsely populated areas.
• Bring a cell phone with you and make sure someone knows where you are going.
• If possible, exercise with a buddy for a safe, enjoyable workout.

Buddy System

You probably learned about the buddy system when you were just a kid--you and your buddy were supposed to keep track of each other. The same system can be useful now in helping you reach your diet and exercise goals.

Find a friend or family member who has similar goals as you and help each other stay motivated and on track. For example, your buddy can encourage you to work out or even set a time to exercise with you. Your buddy may also remind you to NOT go back for that second piece of cake.

Set clear expectations with your buddy as to what you would like help and encouragement with, and then don't get offended when they try to help.