So. The Holidays Happened.

Gosh, where do I start??? We've made it through the holidays and normal, everyday life is rearing it's beautiful head again.

I totally took a break while my whole family was at home. It was nice to spend some quality time together. And now I'm ready to get back to the grind stone. Because - I'll admit it - I gained a few pounds over the holidays.

Yes, I did.

But I don't want those few pounds to turn into a whole lot of pounds, so I'm not going to dwell on my splurging over the holidays. I'm just going to focus on now. And NOW I'm going to really crack down on my healthy eating. And make sure I get in my workouts.

When I was working with a personal trainer, I was eating vegetables with lunch and dinner, EVERY DAY. And I felt really great. I've kind of gotten relaxed about that and I'm getting back into it now. Vegetables and lean meats. If you add them into your diet, and take out the beef and sugars, you've just dramatically changed your diet without a great deal of effort. Yeah, there's more fine tuning to be done, but just those changes make a HUGE difference.

My tip of the day: if you're running around and are short on time to prepare dinner, buying a rotisserie chicken at the grocery and then steaming some vegetables at home make a quick dinner that costs less than fast food for the whole family. You can add some fruit or bread for the rest of the family, but watch the amounts for yourself if you're on a weight loss plan. Carbs are NOT our friends at night.

And for the workouts - at least 30 minutes of cardio at least six times a week. This is just to get started. The thing to remember, if you're just starting a healthy routine, is that when you first start working out, you can be very sore. If you don't workout because you're sore from your workout the day before, then you'll be even MORE sore. Working out every day will help loosen you up. Make sure you get in your stretching, too. If you're still really sore, try soaking in a hot tub. Or splurge and get a massage. (I had to throw that in, but I'm sure only the lucky ones will have the money and time to do it!!!)

More to come on workouts and diets, but for now, I'll wish you all healthy eating, strong muscles, and a Happy New Year!!!!