I AM SO STUCK RIGHT NOW!

Ok....so I'm stuck right now. I've been working out 5-6 days a week, training with Chad, doing extra interval training on the treadmill, taking my vitamins and supplements and NOTHING on the scale. I mean it hasn't budged a single pound in either direction! What is going on?!?!

In the past the illogical side of my brain would tell me to give up, that I'm not someone who can lose weight because (insert reason here:__________) and the binge eating would start all over again! But today it's different. When your car isn't working properly you need to fine tune the engine. That's exactly what I'm proposing with my fitness and healthy diet...something may be "off" so let's evaluate my program and see where I can improve! Here are some thoughts on how you can fine-tune your fitness and healthy eating regimen!

1. Eat More - Weigh Less! - Sounds counter-intuitive, doesn't it? One thing Chad has taught me is your metabolism needs to be fed every 3 hours to keep it revved up throughout the day. Feeding your body healthy snacks (such as a lean protein and whole grain carb or produce) between meals and having small but frequent meals is the best way to keep your metabolism up.

2. Don't guess portion sizes. One of the biggest mistakes I make is guessing the size of my food portions. It honestly does work to use smaller dishes! I have a small bowl that I use for my cereal in the mornings. Filling that bowl up makes it seem like I'm eating a lot of cereal but I'm not! I also use a small salad plate for my meals. It really does work!

3. Plan your snacks! - At the start of every week I make sure I have plenty of snacks on hand and prepared to get me through the week. Sometimes it's as easy as washing grapes and berries and placing them in air-tight containers. Other times I'm washing celery so it's ready for peanut butter on the run. I also really enjoy Kashi TLC crackers and provolone cheese. Another quick snack is Dannon Lite and Fit yogurt with wheat germ. Yummy!!

4. Don't leave home without a few snacks! - There's nothing worse than having hunger pangs and having nothing with you! It's difficult to avoid the vending machines and fast food restaurants for a quick fix. But with a little pre-planning you can avoid these temptations and bring snacks with you! I usually stash in my purse an organic snack bar (I like the Bora Bora wellness bar) in my purse or car. Having nuts, a banana or even a peanut butter and whole wheat bread sandwich is a nice option to some of the horrible fast food mistakes you can make during your day!

5. Read the labels! - Always read the fine print on the packaging and never assume that the large print on the front of the box is the "truth". Avoid food with trans fat, saturated fats and large amounts of sugar. Seek out foods that are high in protein and high in whole grain fibers. Don't buy into the snacks that are 100 calories. If you read the ingredients and the nutritional information, you'll realize that you are ingesting 100 calories of yummy tasting but unhealthy processed foods!

6. Don't skip meals - Keep your body out of starvation mode by selecting a healthy food choice every 3 hours. Eat something healthy within 30 minutes of waking up. Make sure you eat breakfast!

7. Don't eat more because you exercised - this is one of my biggest cognitive errors when it comes to weight loss! Psychologically I think that I just put in an awesome workout so if I eat more or unhealthier than normal, it will balance out. But why would you want to "balance out" your food intake and workout? How quickly a workout can be ruined by an unhealthy meal! Why exert all that effort and pain only to sabotage yourself with a poor food choice? (I'm talking to myself here! lol) Make the most out of your time, effort and energy expended during your workouts by continuing your healthy eating both before and after your exercise routine!

8. Don't skimp on sleep - One thing I read recently on a fitness blog is this... "TRAIN BIG, EAT BIG AND REST BIG". We all know about training and eating healthy but did you know that sleep is a big part of that equation as well? I recently read that a Columbia University research team found that people who got less than 7 hours of sleep a night were 23% more likely to be obese. They concluded that sleep deprivation seems to throw off the hormones that keep our appetites in check.

9. Don't weigh yourself obsessively - Another fault of mine! It's very easy to rely on the scale as THE measurement of your progress. But your weight can fluctuate from day to day - even hour to hour! And it's not the best gauge of your health nor your fitness. Monitoring your clothing size is a better gauge for how you are doing. Keep your attention focused on your health versus a number on the scale! In fact, Chad always tells me to throw out my scale! But I can't! :)

10. Don't say you are on a diet! - The word diet carries many connotations that echo thoughts of a diet being a temporary phase and not a lifestyle change. Think of your new eating style - not as a diet - but a healthy behavioral change that you will continue for the rest of your life!

When starting a new healthy change in your life, it can be overwhelming at all the things to "do" and "don't do". Just select a few changes to implement now into your lifestyle and you'll already be on your way!

Out of the 10 options above, which are the ones you think you can start today and why?

Or if you are already on the path towards a healthier lifestyle, what do you need to improve on? I know for me, I need to improve on the thought that I can eat more because I worked out, sleep more plus I need to avoid the scale! How about you?