Tips to Keep Your New Years Resolutions

With the combination of having just had a baby and the holidays, I have to be honest, my jeans miss me and I them. And since most of America has made the New Years Resolution to lose weight as well, I thought I'd share just a few tips that have really helped me before when I lost the weight from my first baby.

First of all, interval cardio is awesome. Maybe not so much awesome to do, but awesome for results. Say buh bye to the love handles when you start doing these bad boys.

Start with 10 intervals. Begin with 2 minutes of fast walking, then for 30 seconds sprint your little heart out. There, that's one set. Now do this 9 more times to make a total of 10 intervals. If you can, do these two or three times a week.

Also, it's important to keep your body working. So, after about two weeks, up the intervals to 12. And then, two weeks later, go crazy. Keep the 12 and then up the sprint time from 30 seconds to a full minute. I'm promising you, intervals will kick your fats butt.

Now if only it was that easy. But, I have to be honest, you also definitely need some weight training. All cardio and no weights will eat away at muscle mass and make you a weakling. And as we have all heard, muscle burns fat longer and faster than cardio. Go ahead and pick up some weights two to three times a week. You'll see some sexy definition and you'll feel stronger.

Can't get to the gym? No problem. Fitness magazines such Shape, Self, or Fitness (for women) always has some great workout tips that you can do at home. Rip out some of those pages and follow along. Or, what I do when I can't make it to the gym is pull out some of my favorite work out videos. Try Jackie Warners One on One Training. It incorporates weights and cardio so you get a great overall workout. Or, if you want to go hard core, try P90X. There are several ways for you to customize the program so that you're able to get the results you want. It's a bit pricey, but it's honestly like having a personal trainer in your home. And remember, there's always ebay. You can definitely find it half the price on ebay.

Now food. Oh glorious food. Here's the thing, you can work heart out, but if your not keeping track of your diet you WILL NOT see results. Some tips: Grain carbs should be eaten more towards the beginning of the day. Grains are a really great source of energy, which is the reason most breakfast foods are grains. Eat breakfast. Don't skip it, because breakfasts will absolutely make or break how you feel throughout the day. During the latter part of the day, switch over from carbs to vegetables. Vegetables are easier carbs for your body to breakdown and they will fill you up quicker.

Personally, I stick to a strict diet 6 days a week and then one day a week I relax. I think it helps to keep me sane. Also, make sure you're eating every 3-4 hours to keep your metabolism going strong.

Water intake is key as well. Yummy yummy water. Although it can be tough, do your best to get 72 oz or 9 cups each day. Your body will thank you.

Think you can't do all this? My advice is to then just start out with one change. Then, the next week add another, and keep doing this until you've incorporated it all and soon it will become habit.

And then we can all go back to wearing our jeans. And fitting into our jeans makes up happy.

And really, isn't happiness what we really want after all.