Fitting exercise into your busy schedule can be difficult, but finding the time to eat healthy can be even more of a challenge. 8 hour work days are starting to become a thing of the past for a lot of us. Overtime is normal and our eating can be greatly effected by this. The key to eating healthy on a very busy schedule is planning ahead. Here are some tips to help you avoid trips to the drive through on your way home from work:

1. Do not go shopping on your way home from work. You will most likely be starving and grocery shopping when you are hungry is always a bad idea! For your health and your wallet! Shop on the weekend and be sure to buy enough food to last for the entire week.

2. Since you will have all your groceries for the week by Sunday, prepare some meals ahead of time and stick them in the freezer. Or if you don’t want to prepare them completely, wash and chop your veggies, season or marinate your meats and cut them into portions. This way you will have all the ingredients ready to go when you get home with minimal prep time.

3. Use leftovers! Use last night’s chicken in a salad or as a cold sandwich for lunch the next day.

4. Pre-pack your snacks for work. Make sure you bring enough healthy snacks to get your through your day and avoid heading to the vending machine! Also, having a snack in between meals can prevent you from being starving when it’s time for lunch or dinner.

5. Get yourself a nice water bottle instead of going through tons of the plastic bottles ones. Buy a fancy one that you will be proud to display on your desk! This will also help you to avoid beverage calories. You just don’t need them.

6. Do fall into the fad diets of today. They just cause you to buy more just to eat less and eventually, when you stop the diet, you will not want to eat healthy. Just stick to a balance healthy diet and don’t deprive yourself on any one food group. Finding a healthy diet that fits you and doesn’t promise that you will lose weight fast. Having a realistic diet can help you stick to healthy eating for the rest of your life.

When starting a workout program, the first two weeks are definitely the most challenging. Not just because of the exercises, but because of the commitment you will have to make to that program to get your desired results. If you get past those first two weeks, you are more likely to finish the entire program.

How many had a plan to start a workout and put it off? How many started a program and only did it for a week? I’m sure there are a lot of you out there! Getting over the hump is a great achievement and means that you are on your way to reaching your goals.

Some great ways to stick with it is to set a short term goal just to get past those two weeks, work out with a buddy or go online and find a community to get tips and advice from. Blogging about your workout is also a great way to stay motivated. Hold yourself accountable by posting updates and pictures. Once you start to see a change, you will be more inclined to keep going and finish the entire program.

A 10 minute workout may not seem like something that can deliver results, but the trick to this workout is super-stacking, which is an exercise technique Tony Horton created that uses cardio and resistance training all in one, and doing up to 3 separate 10 minute workouts through out the day. Your 10 Minute Trainer results can vary depending on how many 10 minute sessions you do per day. This might be something people don’t realize when they decide to use the 10 Minute Trainer. To get the best results, you will actually be working out for a total of 30 minutes per day.

So essentially, the more 10 minute workouts per day you do, the better results you will get. If you are out of shape and want to ease you way into fitness, start with one per day then work you way up to three. Your 10 Minute Trainer results can be great with 30 minutes per day and a well balanced diet. You can lose weight and tone your muscles with these super-stacked short workouts. Who doesn’t have 10 minutes here and there? No excuses!

Buying organic can be a little pricy, but there are great benefits to eating organic foods. For a few bucks more, you will be doing your health a great deal of good as well as the environment. According to the Organic Trade Association, here are 10 great reasons to switch to organic foods:

1.  Organic products are required by law to follow strict procedures to ensure livestock and produce are grown without toxic chemicals. Herbicides, pesticides and hormones get passed to you when you eat commercially grown products.

2.  Organic foods taste better. Yes, it’s true. Organic foods are grown in balanced soils without any artificial anything. Of course it would taste better!

3.  Organically grown foods reduce health risks. EPA approved pesticides were registered before research revealed that they can cause cancer and other diseases.

4.  Organic farms respect water sources. Organically farmed produce and livestock do not produce harmful chemical and nitrogen leaching.

5.  Organic farms build healthy soil rather than erode it away, which can happen with mono-cropping on a commercial farm.  Mono-cropping is growing the same crop on the same patch of land year after year.

6.  Organic farmers try to work in harmony with nature as much as humanly possible. Organic agriculture respect the balance demanded of a healthy ecosystem. Wildlife is encouraged by including forage crops in rotation and by retaining fence rows, wetlands and other natural areas.

7.  Our organic farmers have been the leaders in researching innovative ways to keep pesticides out of their crops and decreasing the agricultural impact on the environment.

8.  Organic farmers collect and preserve seeds to avoid the loss of species (biodiversity).

9.  Organic farming practices can be a lifeline for small farms because it offers an alternative market where sellers can command fair prices for crops.

10.  Organic abundance. Most food categories have an organic alternative, as well as non-food products such as cotton clothing.

You may be asking yourself, how can working out for 10 minutes a day do anything for me? The 10 Minute Trainer seems like an incredibly convenient workout to use, but does it really work? The answer is yes and the reason is “superstacking.”

Tony Horton uses superstaking techniques that both cardio and strength training, all in one. Adding strength training is key if you want to shorten your workout time and speed up your results. Because the 10 Minute Trainer uses both, you will be able to build strength as well as burn calories in a shorter period of time.

Strength training speeds up weight loss by building muscle which burns more calories during your workout and by increasing your resting metabolic rate for a up to 16 hours after your workout. If you aren’t getting results for your everyday cardio routine, add some resistance and you will start to see a change.

Tony Horton is the mastermind behind many of the Beachbody programs available today. His extensive experience and knowledge about fitness has helped many people transform their bodies and live healthier lifestyles. Before the creation of Tony Horton’s 10 Minute Trainer, he was trainer to many celebrities such as Usher Raymond, Ewan McGregor and Bruce Springsteen.

Tony Horton’s 10 Minute Trainer has proven to be the most user friendly program available from Beachbody. This program uses Tony’s method of “super-stacking” to deliver great results in a short period of time. Super-stacking exercises are moves that not only get the heart rate going, but work muscle groups as well, so it’s like a cardio and resistance workout in one. 10 minutes is all you need to get in a great workout that will help you to tone up and lose weight. Anyone can dedicate 10 minutes to their health and fitness.

Tony Horton’s 10 Minute Trainer has a great calendar that tells you which workout to do when. If you are feeling really adventurous, you can do up to three separate 10 minute workouts per day, which the calendar will outline for you. There are some other great tools included with the 10 Minute Trainer such as the resistance bands, cardio belt and resistance band door attachment. These tools will give you great resistance to tone and build muscle during these super-stacked workouts.

If you are looking for an at home program that will help you to lose weight and get into great shape, Tony Horton’s 10 Minute Trainer may be the program for you. If you do not have a lot of time during the day to dedicate to exercising, this program is perfect for you. If you are a beginner to fitness and do not want to get in too deep over your head to start, Tony Horton’s 10 Minute Trainer is your best choice. A versatile program almost anyone can use and get great results from.

If you love the 10 Minute Trainer and would like more routines to help you achieve even greater results, go for the 10 Minute Trainer Upgrade. This way you can still enjoy your 10 minute routine every day with new workouts.

So what is included in the 10 Minute Trainer Upgrade? To start, you will get 9 all new 10 minute workouts with Tony Horton. Get “One on One” super-stacking training from the master of fitness. The upgrade also includes an accelerated results calendar. This calendar gives you a new schedule rotating these new workouts in a way to accelerate your results.

Are you in need of more bands? The 10 Minute Trainer Upgrade includes two more resistance bands to give you more variety in terms of weight. Perfect for the use with your resistance band door attachment and cardio belt. The 10 Minute Trainer Upgrade is the perfect addition to your already successful 10 Minute Trainer workout routine.

This can be a struggle. All of your favorite foods laid out before you presented in a visually pleasing way. How can you not indulge in those comfort foods that you look forward to eating every year? Not to mention all of those specialty desserts that will only appear on your family’s holiday table once a year. How can you avoid holiday weight gain with these once per year temptations?

For those who are on specific eating and exercise plans, the holidays can’t come at a worse time. You already lost some weight and are doing great, and now you have the pressure of sticking to your diet without ruining the holiday experience. This can be tricky. First, figure out if you are doing the cooking or if you will be visiting someone else’s home this year. If you are cooking, you have this holiday season in the bad and you don’t have to worry about holiday weight gain. Just cook a few things in accordance to your diet and you are good to go!

For those of you who may be going to and Aunt’s or Grandma’s house, you will have a greater challenge. Here are some tips to help you get through those holiday dinners without feeling the regret later:

1. DO NOT GO HUNGRY!  This might be the most important rule of them all! That would be like going to the grocery store hungry. You end up buying the whole store!
2. Bring a dish of your own.
3. Skip the appetizers. There is no need semi-filling your belly before you sit down to eat, unless dinner is a couple hours away. In this case, go for things that are not fried or high in sugar. Meat apps can be more filling so you will be inclined to eat less.
4. There is no need to sample everything!
5. Choose foods that closest resemble foods approved by your diet or current eating plan. Veering way, way off the path can lead to giving in to temptations further down the road. You can never go wrong with lean white meats, vegetables and a small amount of grains. Don’t be afraid to add a fruit to you dinner plate either. Go for dishes with a few simple ingredients. Casseroles are yummy but often filled with butter, flour or cheesy ingredients.
6. Take it slow. I know holiday dinners can be exciting and you look forward to them all year, but don’t inhale. Eating slower leads to eating less. When you eat fast, you stomach doesn’t have time to catch up and give you the signal that it’s full. Engage in the table conversation and you will find you have more time between each bite.
7. If you must choose a dessert, go for a simple scoop of vanilla ice cream with a tiny piece of pie or some fruit on the side.

You don’t have to fear holiday weight gain, just try and be prepared and be ready to avoid temptation. Don’t be afraid to have a taste of your favorites, but if your favorite is marshmallow covered sweet potatoes, just keep it at that. A taste!

If you have decided to try the 10 Minute Trainer, chances are that you are a busy person that was looking for a simple solution to help you to lose weight. It is probably also safe to say that you aren’t interested in a program that requires all kinds of equipment and extras. The required 10 Minute Trainer equipment is all included with even the standard package.

You will get a resistance band along with handles which will come in handy for your Total Body workout. You will also get a Resistance Band Upgrade Kit and Cardio Belt. Use the band attachment with your resistance bands to attach you bands to your doorway to perform various resistance exercises. The cardio belt also attaches to your doorway to help you increase the intensity of your cardio workout. This 10 Minute Trainer equipment comes with your standard package.  The Deluxe version comes with more workouts as well as two more bands.

So there you have it! Minimal time, minimal equipment. If you would like to use extra equipment to enhance your workout, you might consider using a body fat tester to help track your results or a set of dumbbells for more resistance, but the included 10 Minute Trainer equipment is all you need to start your at home workout program.

You may think that just because you are eating a salad that you are taking the healthy route? Well you are, but some salads can pack in as many calories as a Big Mac!  I refer to a Big Mac quite often in my writing because it’s a highly identifiable American favorite. Most people are familiar with the two all beef patty song right? Anyway, be careful what you add to your salad, especially if you are trying to lose weight.

So how do you avoid eating a 600 calorie salad?  First of all, if you add too many ingredients to make it more interesting, you could be running into trouble.  Simple, well thought out salads tend to be the tastiest!  There are endless options when it comes to salad, but why try and pack them all onto one plate? Regular garden salads can leave us feeling hungry, but we have to be careful what we add to create a more substantial meal.

First comes the lettuce….there are many kinds to choose from.  This is the starting point and this decision will affect the rest of your salad.  I know it’s a tough and dramatic decision, but it is true that salads made with lettuce that actually has a little taste contain fewer extras, which means fewer calories.  Iceberg lettuce has the lease amount of taste in my book, and the least amount of nutritional value, so you might want to opt for a nice romaine or spinach salad.  Spinach does have a very particular taste and you can’t just add anything to it, but it is a very healthy salad option.

Protein is often the next item added to a salad and can add a great deal of calories if you aren’t careful. Of course breaded chicken is NOT the way to go, instead opt for grilled chicken breast, which can add about 145 calories to your salad.  Tuna can also add around 145 calories and an egg will add 71.

Veggies are a good addition and don’t add too many calories, so go nuts here!

Cheese………..yikes.  Salads are great with cheese, but cheese adds a ton of calories as well. ¼ cup of cheddar cheese can add 114 calories.  A good option would be mozzarella at 84 calories, but the cheese has to match the rest of you salad right?  Creating the perfect salad can be a grueling process!  Lets take a look at all the other extras we can add.  Croutons, nuts, seeds, berries and olives are some that come to mind.  Cranberries can add 123 calories to your salad creation.  Almonds, 103.

It’s time for dressing. Usually a no-brainer depending on what you salad is made up of. Obviously creamer less translucent dressings are going to be higher in calories and in fat, so try to stick to oil and/or vinegar based dressings like Italian or balsamic.  Vinaigrettes are so tasty and light and they come in many different flavors like raspberry.  That is a favorite of mine. Some salads are best with good old olive oil and vinegar, but beware of the 239 calories in the olive oil.

The point of this article is that you don’t have to avoid your higher calorie salad additions, just try and keep it simple. Here is a salad I would put together that is less than 300 calories:

Spinach

Boiled Eggs – I would remove the yolk, not a fan of yolk.

Cucumbers

Alfalfa Sprouts

Sliced Almonds

Vinaigrette Dressing

Sliced strawberries on the side

282 Calories

10 grams of fat

26 grams of carbs

8 grams of dietary fiber

10 grams of protein

There you have it!  This is my idea of a delicious and simple salad with the goodness of spinach, plenty of protein without adding too many calories, some nice texture and a little sweetness.