Welcome to 2015! This year we are going to focus on Balance and how important it is for you to achieve in your daily life. Balance comes in all different shapes and sizes, and when we talk about weight loss it’s so important to figure out how balance will work for you. We can’t live on an all or nothing system. We can’t survive on being perfect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. First of all, it takes a whole lot of work to be perfect and who wants to try and live up to being perfect everyday? One of the fun things about working hard to be healthy and feel good about yourself is when we can go out and enjoy it.

Weight Loss – Balance is about learning how to have fun, enjoy, and stay in control.

The final holiday of 2014 is just around the corner. It is hard to believe that this year is about to come to an end! Whether you plan to celebrate the coming of the New Year out on the town or watch the festivities from the comfort of your home, take this time to make one last healthy push this year. New Years is typically a night of partying and leaving this year behind for a fresh start, but don’t let it fool you. You don’t get to press a magical restart button when the clock strikes midnight. The rules still apply, but that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate these past 12 months to the fullest. Make this week extra healthy – eat clean and exercise in preparation for New Years Eve celebrations and to get a step ahead on your New Years Resolution, instead of letting Christmas and Hanukkah holiday eating spread out over this week. The time after the big holidays is crucial. It may seem like a constant uphill battle, but once you are able to bounce back after such a hectic and heavy eating schedule you will be so glad that you put in the extra effort now. Enjoy that party and a bubbly drink knowing you earned it.

With Christmas less than a week away it may be tempting to just throw all the rules out the window and give in to the holiday’s temptations. Delicious appetizers and extravagant meals followed by decadent desserts. It’s something many people look forward to all year long. But do you really have to put your weight loss plan on hold in order to fully enjoy the holiday? You probably have plenty of excuses to keep yourself from exercising or eating healthy: “I’m too busy with Christmas preparations to fit exercise in to my day”, “I want to relax in my time off from work/school”, “I’ve been really good recently I deserve to eat whatever I want”, and so on. But does it ever really feel satisfying when you give in to temptation? We tend to tell ourselves that we have to go overboard in order to really do a holiday right. But there is also reward in doing something, no matter how small, that makes you proud of yourself when the holiday ends. Think of it not as missing out on something, but more like making a smarter decision that will be even more satisfying.

Your commitment may be strong right now but it can be hard to find motivation in the cold weather to get active. Leaving the house can feel like a battle and at the end of the day all you want to do is get inside and curl up on the couch. There seems like no right time to fit in a workout or go to the gym, and any time you spend outside you want to keep to a minimum. But hibernating in the winter will just make you feel even more sluggish and lethargic, and when spring comes around you will have to start all over again. Don’t let this time go to waste. There are a variety of ways to stay active inside and outside this fall and winter that can crush any excuse.

This is the time of year when warm, hearty foods can bring comfort and good feelings in the cold months. You may even associate this time of the year with certain foods, like casseroles during the holidays. You can’t imagine a November without turkey or a December without a special feast. The same can be said for more day-to-day wants and needs that food may fulfill. When you’re stressed do you reach for treats or snacks? When you’re bored do you open the pantry? When you’ve completed a difficult task do you crave your favorite food? Ask yourself – are you living to eat, or eating to live? When you live to eat, you indulge in foods that make you feel comfortable, relieve your stress or boredom, or reward an accomplishment. You eat something because of how you feel emotionally instead of the physical hunger you feel when your body needs fuel. On the other hand, when you eat to live you provide your body with nourishment that fuels and supports your health.

It’s hard to believe, but Thanksgiving is only two weeks away. The Halloween decorations just came down and now another holiday is already around the corner. This is going to be a very busy time, but you should use these next two weeks to prepare for the four day feast.

Now that fall is in full swing there may be things about your daily life and routine have changed since the warmer weather, but one thing that should always stay the same is drinking water consistently throughout the day. In the summertime it is easy to tell when you’re getting dehydrated, and nothing cools you down like a tall glass of ice water. But in the fall and winter months we are less inclined to drink water. It may feel like the last thing you want is something cold to drink, but the effects of dehydration can really take a toll in the colder months. In colder temperatures, your body will focus more on maintaining its core temperature and less on fluid balance. You body won’t alert you when it needs water as often as it should, so you have to take the initiative and stay hydrated.

As the temperature drops, you may find it harder and harder to get out and exercise. Just thinking about getting outdoors or getting in your car when it’s dark and cold out can make you want to stay inside until spring, but just because you don’t leave the house that doesn’t mean you can’t get in a workout.

By now you have probably heard, read or been told to drink warm lemon water as part of your weight loss plan and for a healthy life in general, but do you really know why? Just 12 oz of hot or warm water with lemon each day can offer you a long list of benefits that will keep you body healthy inside and out.

With this season comes many new opportunities to have a happy and healthy fall. The changing leaves and cool weather are just a few reasons to get outside. Hiking, walking, and biking are great ways to enjoy the outdoors with friends and family, or to take some time for yourself. Activities like these help improve your cardio-vascular health and muscle fitness while lowering your risk of some cancers and heart disease, all while helping you reach your weight loss goals. Whether you head to a state park, bike trail or stay in your neighborhood, take advantage of the beautiful weather! Be sure to stay warm and safe out there, such as wearing weather proof clothing for rainy days and something reflective now that it will be getting darker earlier.