Every year, people make health-related new years resolutions. Some succeed, but others fail. So what’s the secret to succeeding? Obviously, being healthy is a worthy goal, and no doubt, everyone who starts as good intentions. So what separates those who succeed from those who don’t?

Often, it’s as simple as having the right plan.

Here are a few tips that will help you brainstorm a fitness plan that will work for you:

Be realistic.

If you don’t have two hours a day to work out, don’t commit to going to two classes at the gym everyday.  Or if you can’t squeeze anything else into your evening, don’t save your workout for after work. Decide fitness is a priority, but  set yourself up for success by choosing logistics you can accommodate.

Pick fitness activities you enjoy.

If you hate to run, don’t run just because you think it burns more calories than some other activity. We get the best results from fitness plans we will do with consistency.

If you dread it, do you really think you’ll do it? 

Think outside of the box. Do you like to dance? Take a class. Did you play sports in high school? Find a community league. Are you a germaphobe who freaks out at the thought of using free weights someone else has used? Buy a DVD set, and use your own weights at home. Your workout should be something you look forward to – not just something you have to check off your to-do list.

Set incremental goals you can reach on a regular basis.

A year can seem like a long time when you’re waiting on something specific. Maybe you want to lose 100 lbs this year. Set smaller goals that will help you get to your big goal so you can see progress along the way, such as losing two pounds a week. It doesn’t have to be that drastic, though. You can simply set a goal of how many meals you will cook at home a month to prevent you from eating out so much.

For every small goal you achieve, reward yourself! What’s rewarded is repeated. Here are some ideas:

• Weekly date night with your spouse for clean eating throughout the week
• Monthly massage for not skipping workouts
• Quarterly shopping trip for new clothes in smaller sizes

Get some accountability.

If you keep your goals to yourself, sure, you’re the only one who will know if you fall short. But you’re also the only one who will know when to celebrate. You’ll be the only one who knows what you’re juggling. You’ll be the only one to cheer you on when you encounter a tough day.

Find a friend or a family member who has the gift of encouragement, and ask them to hold you accountable to your goals. Better yet – get them to join you! Reaching goals with someone else is sometimes just the push we need to succeed.

Ask for help if you need it.

People become professionals for a reason…so the rest of us don’t have to be experts!

If you’re completely at a loss at where to begin, please contact me so I can help you. I work in fitness because I genuinely love it. Few things make my day like helping someone else! I’d love to help you find a plan that will work with your lifestyle to give you the health you deserve.

What’s your goal for 2015? Write it down in the comments as your commitment to stick to it!

I admit it: there’s few things in the world cuter than a baby digging into a cake on his birthday. But no matter how cute it looks in photos, if you have been carefully introducing healthy foods into your baby’s tummy & then shock their bodies with large amounts of refined sugar, you might not end up with a happy birthday after all. (Nobody likes a tummy ache!)

I combined a few different recipes & made a few changes of my own to create a smash cake that made cute pictures & kept Cole smiling all day. Enjoy!

You will need:

For cake:

• 3/4 cup almond meal
• 3/4 cup all purpose gluten free flour
• 4 medium-sized ripe bananas
• 3/4 cup organic cinnamon applesauce
• 1 large cage-free brown egg
• 1/3 cup raw honey
• 3 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Cinnamon (ground, to taste)
• 3 mini bundt pans

For frosting:

• 1 package organic dark chocolate chips
• 1 can organic unsweetened coconut milk

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine all cake ingredients in a food processor & blend on low until mixed well.
3. Separate into mini bundt pans, place in oven & bake for 20 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.)
4. While cake is baking, pour chocolate chips in a small saucepan over medium heat.
5. Open the can of coconut milk, and drain all liquid, leaving only the creamy “cream cheese texture-like” coconut milk. Add to saucepan.
6. Stir until it all chocolate chips are melted.
7. Pour frosting into a quart-sized ziplock bag & place in freezer to harden. (Should take around 30-45 minutes.)
8. After reaching a more frosting-like texture, place in refrigerator.
9. Cut a small corner, and pour frosting in a lace design over the cake (as shown in the picture above.)
10. Get a camera ready, make sure your child is dressed to get messy, and make some memories!

Happy birthday from my little one to your little one!

With a new year upon us, I’m sure many have health & fitness goals. You won’t get any arguments from me, as I obviously deem those as worthy goals. But I wanted to challenge you, whether you have a baby in your belly or not, to adopt the pregnancy workout mindset as your set & complete your goals this year.

Work out for your health – not to look a certain way.

Let’s say you found a car you’d been wishing for since you were 16. When you go to buy it, you find out that this particular model was designed without room for a motor. It’s pretty much would just be an accessory to your driveway.

Just as I doubt you would invest time or money into that busted car, no matter how great it looked, why would we ever base our entire health’s success or failure on how something looks vs. what it can do?

Make it your goal to get your heart rate up regularly, to increase your strength, or to achieve some kind of physical goal that you’ve never done before (such as run a 10k, squat your body weight, do 50 push-ups without stopping or do an unassisted pull-up), you’ll see gains in your overall health (and bound to see some changes to your physique without stressing too!)

The intensity can be lower, but don’t take the consistency down.

As we get older, we have to care for our bodies differently. We may have certain days, or certain seasons, where intense impact exercise doesn’t feel good anymore.

Here’s the reality: Lower intensity workouts still get the job down as long as you don’t lower your consistency. 

A friend of mine, Danielle, who just went through an exercise program as a modifier put it this way:

“Modifying isn’t a disease. It’s not gender specific or age specific. It’s what your body needs at that moment to have an effective workout. If you need to — modify with pride, not shame.”

Exercise is what’s best for baby.

No matter how old your “baby” is (or even if that baby is simply your spouse, your aging parents, your friends, your job or your church family), exercise positions you to be physically equipped to do more for others.

Exercise gives you energy, strength, stamina and endurance. You will be in a better position to serve your family & those around you if you prioritize your health.

What are your 2015 goals for your health? Will you follow these tips?

I’ll be honest. I have seasons where I don’t track my personal fitness goals. If I’m not working toward something specific or I’m in maintenance mode, I workout consistently & I make healthy food choices. Coming from years as an anorexic, there is extreme freedom that I am in a place mentally to be able to have that liberty.

However, there are other seasons, like prepping for a race, getting my body back after baby, or working for gains in my strength, where tracking my progress is necessary.

And call me old school, but when it comes to tracking my progress, I am all about pen & paper. (I love my smart phone, aka my genius in my pocket. But I get more results when I write than I do when I type.)

But January’s coming, my 30th birthday is around the corner, Shaun T has a new workout, and I’m running a test group with 20 other ladies just like me. So tracking my progress is about to get real!

So introducing the winner…the fitbook lite! 

This handy journal consists of 4 small tweaks to make to lose 5 lbs. in 6 weeks. You track your workouts, what you’re eating, your sleep, your steps, and your tweaks all in one convenient location.

Here are the 3 reasons I love it most:

1. It’s simple.

The 4 tweaks are simple. I can’t give away the secrets, of course, but if you’re looking to make positive changes in your health, this is a very manageable way to begin. I say this with love – If you can’t make these tweaks, you’re more committed to your excuses than seeing positive change. (Ouch. That hurt to type. But it’s true.)

2. It sets you up for success.

One thing I don’t like about many weight loss plans is that they tell you, “We’re going to lose 40 lbs. this year!” And while that sounds great, a lot will give up. A year is a long time to wait to accomplish a goal! Setting small goals that allow you to celebrate more frequently is a much better way to stay committed to the larger goal.

3. It’s not really about the numbers.

The food tracker portion never asks you to count calories. It asks you to track nutrients & record how you felt after the meal. So if you’re sluggish afterward, or your workout suffers that day, you have a place you can look to see if there are patterns. It was through using my fitbook that I discovered what meals work best for me when performance is important, as well as foods that just simply don’t agree with my body. So for someone who used to be a slave to calorie counting, this is a way that allows me to still track what’s going in my body without putting myself in danger of getting crazy obsessive over the numbers.

So for you, my reader, I have a gift! How does a site-wide 20% off discount code sound?

Well…alright…just because it’s Christmas, I suppose that’s fair! ::wink::

Use PROMO CODE: CROSSTRAIN20 for 20% all orders between now and 12/31/14 at fitlosophy!

A few of my other fitlosophy favorites:

12-week fitbook journal

fitbook pens

fitfuser water bottle 

Which reason of mine (1, 2, or 3?) appeals the most to you about using this tool? 

Halloween just makes me ready for Thanksgiving. As a general rule, I’m just not a fan. I mean, scary costumes + loads of sugar (aka chemicals) + evil (just being honest) does not make for my kind of holiday.

However, I do see Halloween as an opportunity.

I love that our church hosts a Halloween alternative that based on fun & games & run by adults who just want to share the love of Christ with kids and their parents.

I love that our neighborhood kids will knock on our door, and we have a chance to give them a smile, strengthen our relationships with them, and open doors for new ones.

But just like I won’t have creepy music or scary decor at my house, I also won’t hand out candy that I believe contributes to behavior & health problems.

Here are a few options that dentists, nutritionists & KIDS will all approve:

Glow Jewelry

What kid (okay, adult too) is not fascinated by something that glows in the dark? There are lots of options at the link above – from glow sticks & bracelets to necklaces & sunglasses.

Halloween-Themed Pretzels

Pretzels are not exactly nutrient-filled, but they’re certainly a better option than candy. Plus, after a later night trick-or-treating, parents will be grateful to have something that can go right into their lunch bag for school the next day.

Annie’s Halloween Bunny Grahams

While I realize this may not be the best budget option depending on how many kids will ring your doorbell, if your child does a Halloween party or trick-or-treat exchange at school, this would be a good option to put in the treat bag of your child’s classmates. Still sweet, but not loaded with chemicals.

Decorated Fruit Cups

Take a sharpie & draw jack-o-lantern faces on fruit cups of oranges, mangos or peaches. You could actually do this with a REAL orange as well. It’s still fun, in line with the season, and kids really do like them. (I promise – they will get PLENTY of candy from other houses.)

All-Natural Lollipops

If you still want to give candy, there are brands beginning to pop up that have good standards, like these lollipops free from artificial colors & flavors, high fructose corn syrup, and gluten.

Milky Way Alternative from Unreal 

If you still want your chocolate & caramel, but want to forgo the artificial ingredients, GMO, corn syrup, preservatives & hydrogenated oils, you can buy these. Again, budget wise, these might not be the best option for trick-or-treaters, but if you wanted to have these on hand for your kids in exchange for the candy they collect from the neighbors, they won’t know the difference.

Halloween Candy Buy Back

In closing, I am all about balance & moderation in life. Your kids are not going to die if they have a few pieces of candy (and neither are you.) But the amounts of candy kids gather in just a few hours isn’t healthy for anyone. And if your family is working to become healthier, it’s not best to keep that temptation in the house.

I’d invite you to check out the Halloween Candy Buy Back program, run by dentists in local areas. In short, dentists collect candy in exchange for cash or prizes, and then the candy is sent in bulk to our troops. (And with the number of soldiers we have, moderation won’t be an issue!)

Hope that list helps you or gets your healthy wheels turning. Praying for a safe & [truly] happy Halloween for all.

What would you add to this list? Leave a link in the comments!

I don’t hate the gym, bootcamps, running, or anything else that helps others get fit. I would never be so arrogant to tell you that those things don’t work. They totally do. There are lots of ways to get fit.

Bottom line: Whatever workout you will do with consistency WORKS.

But just in case you’ve never tried it before, or you’ve had a situation in your life change that has changed your regular fitness routine, these are the 5 factors that make working out at home the best option for me.

It takes less time.

I have a husband in full-time ministry, two children, a business, and two ministries that fall under my daily tasks. I cut time corners whenever possible. So eliminating driving to the gym, dropping kids off, putting stuff in the locker room, & general small talk, I can gain back almost a full hour in my day by commuting only to my garage.

I can do the workout I want when I want.

I love fitness classes & interaction. When I worked out at the gym, I based my workout schedule around my favorite instructors & preferred classes. Now, I can have my favorite trainers & formats on my schedule via my DVD player.

It eliminates the temptation of comparison & competition.

With a history of anorexia & compulsive over-exercise, I was blown away by the improvement with my mental struggles by simply ridding myself of the temptation to compare. I work out in my garage with my messy hair under a hat & no make-up on. My focus is on my workout & being stronger than I was yesterday – not doing more than the girl standing next to me.

That being said, I love the camaraderie of working out in a group, which is why my monthly online challenge groups are a must for me. When one succeeds, we all succeed.

P.S. I realize not everyone may not have this struggle in a gym environment. Just keeping it real from my perspective. 

It’s brainless.

Due to my previously mentioned schedule, I work out at 5am. (I completely operate on the “workout before your body knows what’s happening” principle!) Though I am perfectly capable of creating my own workout, I choose to let another fitness expert tell me exactly what to do so I use my creativity elsewhere in my day.

It’s cost effective.

Add costs for child care/gym memberships/class costs/gas to drive there, etc., and often, there ends up being more money coming out of pocket than we initially realize. I prefer paying for a holistic program that covers a comprehensive workout & meal plan that work together for optimal results. Plus, I’m all about making a long-term investments vs. a monthly fees where my degree of usage by month may vary.

So in closing – gym-goers, cross-fitters, yogis, runners – we’re all on the same team, and I salute you!

What’s your favorite reason to work out at home?