But, it can be hard to keep this up.  I took a few days “off” for a cruise. I didn’t throw all my knowledge on healthy eating out the window.  I know those pina coladas that look so good at the pool are loaded with calories. I opted for light beer instead.  I passed on the bread basket at dinner.  I even went to the fitness center on the ship.  But, still giving myself some freedom for a few days does make it harder to return to being strict with my diet.

You see, this is the problem with dieting. It’s easy to feel you are “on” or “off”.  This kind of mentality makes it hard to stick with a diet long term.  If you feel you are restricting yourself too much, it’s always tempting to eat those forbidden foods.

In general, my approach is not to deny yourself. My opinion is it’s ok to having a few bites of ice cream or have a small piece of cake.  For me, I slowly savor a few bites and that’s enough. Think about it, does the ice cream really get better the more you eat?  Do you really enjoy every bite or are you just mindlessly putting more in your mouth?  The same can be true of a chocolate bar.  The first bite is delicious, but I don’t necessarily enough the rest of the bar.  I enjoy it better over a few days.  Dark chocolate, which is better for you anyway, is always made to be broken into small blocks anyway.

On the cruise, I didn’t deny myself a drink, I just chose a better drink.  You can do the same with desserts. Frozen yogurt or sorbets are delicious – and much better for you than ice cream.  So instead of restricting yourself, find alternatives for those foods you crave that aren’t the best for your waist line.

Ok, so you’ve decided to make strength training a part of your routine. Don’t worry, you don’t have to spend hours at the gym with those guys who grunt while lifting massive amounts of weight. In fact, you don’t even need a gym membership to get the benefits of strength training. With just a few items you can develop a great routine, such as p90x, you can do at home. Dumbbells come in a variety of sizes and resistance bands are also a good option. If you haven’t been to the sporting goods department of your local store in a while, you may be surprised by all the products now available for home use.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

1.Always warm up. It is very important to give your body a chance to warm the muscles and lubricate joints before adding additional weight. Warming up can be as simple as marching or jogging in place. Warm up should last about 5 minutes.

2.Stretch. After your warm up spend a few minutes stretching. This increases muscle flexibility.

3. If you are just starting – keep it light. Proper form is more important than the amount of weight. Develop good technique and then slowly work up to heavier weights. For weight loss, use enough weight that you feel fatigued after 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions.

4. Maintain a neutral spine and engage your abs in every movement. Go through the complete range of motion, move slowly, and remember to breathe.

5. Choose one exercise for each major muscle group: Chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves and abdominals. It is important to work muscles in groups. If you consistently leave out one of the major muscle groups you could develop an imbalance which may lead to injury.

6. Rest is vital. Your muscles actually strengthen after lifting weights as they rebuild and recover. Rest at least 24 hours between strength training sessions.

Ideally, you should do three sessions a week, but any amount is better than none. As with any new routine you should gradually increase the difficultly. Stick with it and you’ll be impressed with the results. Healthy eating and cardio workouts are great, but with strength training you will obtain noticeable results.