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Aerobic training is very important for your heart and your overall fitness. Health experts recommend you train aerobically twenty to thirty minutes a day, four to five times a week.

The activities most used are running, walking at a brisk pace, biking, and doing basic aerobics in the house to fitness tapes. Dancing and boxing to the music are the most popular of the programs. These are all very good exercises to help you build your aerobic capacity.

You might want to consider jumping rope. We have all done this when we were kids, but rope jumping is not included in many workout programs.

It should be. It is one of the best aerobic exercises available and involves your entire body. Boxers have used rope jumping since way back when.

Add a little variety to your rope jumping routine and you may find it fun and challenging.

To begin, start with your basic rope jumping. Hold the rope in both hands with the rope behind your back. Start by swinging the rope over your head and under your feet, jumping up and down with both feet as the rope goes under your feet. This is a great way to loosen up and you should do this for a couple minutes.

Next, begin alternating your feet touching the ground, like you are running. One foot jumps over the rope at a time.

For a little more of a challenge, swing the rope backwards. Do both the basic jump and the feet-alternating jump. This works your muscles out in a different manner and really helps with your coordination.

Now it gets tougher. Jump higher and swing the rope faster so you rotate it twice before your feet touch the ground. This gives your legs additional muscle toning and, for any athletes out there, it helps develop your jumping ability.

Once again return to basic jumping but this time, as you swing the rope, cross your arms in front of you. You are going to find this tough to do at first, but you’ll get the hang of it. It adds a little fun to your workout as you try to master this technique.

Now you’re ready for single leg jumping. Jump rope with the same foot for five repetitions, then switch legs and jump with the other leg for five repetitions. Repeat with each leg.

This is only a few of the variations you can try. Experiment and see if you can come up with any more techniques. Search the Internet for jump rope techniques. The more different variations you come up with, the more enjoyable your exercise will be.

Adding the jump rope to your exercise routine will definitely help you increase your fitness level. We did it as kids. Now do it as adults.

So the holidays are in full swing, and you are on a diet, again.

There’s a very good chance that the temptation to splurge on some of the foods on your taboo list will be within easy reach. How will you handle it?

Holiday dieting can be the hardest time to stayed focused especially since there are so many of them. Besides the common ones like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, if you celebrate them, most people forget the various other celebrations like the sporting events, weddings, baby showers, birthdays and the like. Something can be celebrated almost every weekend. What is one to do?

While every intention is to stay on course with the dieting program, sometimes it may not be so easy as social pressures mount. Here are some suggestions to keep you from getting the holiday dieting blues.

Look at your dieting program as a continuing journey and not as an instant destination. If one of the meals exceeds your calorie allowance, look at the next meal and adjust it accordingly. Remember, most people get those holiday dieting binges and the ones that come out of it ahead realize that one meal won’t completely sabotage the entire program.

See the bigger picture. If you look at your dieting schedule weekly instead of daily, then one bad meal isn’t going to be such a detriment if you have 30 or more meals in that week.

After a meal disaster, just get back into the saddle and continue on your dieting journey again. Most people give up because they feel they have failed and it’s no use staying on the diet any longer. The ones that succeed are the ones who move on and don’t give up.

Some knowledge of calorie amounts in foods can be very helpful. Find the foods that have lower calories and remember them for your holiday dieting adventures. You will be able to eat more of those lower calorie foods without feeling deprived.

Portion sizes can make a tremendous difference in your success. In calorie dense foods, the size of the portion consumed can amount to 1/3 or more of your daily intake.

There is a signal sent to the brain from the stomach that says it is full or satisfied. This satiety message takes approximately 20 minutes to reach the brain. To decrease the calories consumed in that meal, eat slower. Try chewing your food longer and taking a short break between mouthfuls as that will waste some time to get within that 20 minute window of opportunity.

Drinking water can be very helpful in keeping the diet on course. If you drink water before a meal, your stomach will have something in it and produce a somewhat satisfied feeling. This will help to cut down on the portion size of your meal. This suggestion can work anytime you feel hungry. Interesting enough, sometimes the need for water is disguised as a hungry feeling. So drinking water can not only help your holiday dieting needs, but also anytime you have a craving for food.

The drinking of water also has the benefit of having zero calories. Instead of having a sugar sweetened drink or any alcoholic beverage, have water instead. Remember to look at the total calorie intake taken in a one-week period of time. Water every day will help keep that total amount within control if you tend to binge.

Eating snacks can push up the calorie count in one day. Sometimes people will eat some snacks as a social thing and not really for the hunger satiety. Be aware of this because it can be very easy to consume a high amount of calories with just this action alone. If you need to snack then hopefully there will be a vegetable platter close by. Try eating celery. You can eat as much of it as you want because celery requires so much work for the stomach to digest. This makes the calorie amount negligible.

If holiday dieting is getting you down, perhaps some of the suggestions mentioned can pick you up and give that extra push to stay on track with your goals. Your success will come from taking that continuing journey one step at a time to make your holiday and dieting adventures a good one.

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Festive Fitness
9 tricks for fitting in exercise over the holidays

Who has time to exercise during the holidays? You do—and here’s how. You don’t have to spend an hour at the gym to get a quality workout in. With holiday parties, travel and shopping, your free time is probably at an all-time low. So we’ve got nine simple tricks that can help keep you active, without driving you to the proverbial holiday nuthouse.

If you can get into the mindset that something is better than nothing, you’ll be amazed at the results you can get.

1. Break up your routine.
Research has shown that when it comes to lifting weights, a few shorter workouts can be just as effective as one long workout. Look at your normal weight lifting routine and split it up into two or three smaller pieces. Take 10 or 15 minutes, two or three times during the day and fit each piece in. You’ll find you’ll be able to fill your downtime that you usually waste waiting to do something else, and you’ll get the same benefit as you would doing your normal, longer workout.

2. Do a little bit each day.
Make it your goal to do something active each day during the month of December. You don’t have to feel guilty if you can’t exercise as much as you did in September, but you do have to keep your lifestyle active. Find an activity—walking, vacuuming, shopping, shoveling snow—and get it done.

3. Commit to half.
You’re driving home past the gym. You still have four aunts, two uncles and a hairdresser to shop for—what do you do? Commit to doing half of your normal routine. Get in the gym, change your clothes and start an abbreviated workout. You’ll be staying active and odds are, once you’re there, you’ll stay for longer than you think.

4. Walk when you can’t do anything else.
Just walk. Walk around the block. Walk in the parking lot. Walk up and down the stairs. Even walking in the mall counts. If you have to call your relatives, then do so on the move. When you are at the end of your rope, just tie a knot and take a walk.

5. Exercise in the mornings if possible.
This is one of the more difficult ways to fit in exercise, but it is probably the most rewarding. If you can, try waking up 30 minutes earlier for just one week, and then decide if it’s worth it. Exercising during the morning hours is a tough transition, but many people find that once they start exercising early, they never stop. Remember, you’re going to have to push yourself during the holiday season. To get the results you want, expect to put in some effort.

6. Use your lunch break for more than eating.
Don’t spend a whole hour in the break room watching Days of Our Lives. Instead do a couple laps around the parking lot first and then go eat. Even if you only have 10 minutes, get out and move. Again, the theory of “a little is better than nothing” applies here.

7. Up the intensity.
You can shorten your workout, but make it more difficult. Lift heavier weights and increase the speed and/or the incline on the treadmill. Forcing your body to work harder for shorter periods of time is a good way to stimulate both muscle growth and fat burning.

8. Accept what’s acceptable.
Remember, 20 minutes of cardio will do. There’s no need to ride the Life Cycle for an entire hour or elliptisize yourself to death. If you’re busy during the holidays, shoot for a solid 20-minute workout. You will raise your heart rate long enough to promote fat burning, and you’ll still have time to wrap that present for your neice.

Plus, if you miss a few days, it’s not a reason to give up for the whole season. You aren’t going to lose the gains you worked so hard for by missing just a few days or one week. Get back on the horse (or treadmill) and give it another shot. You know you are going to do well in January, but it’s December that can really make the difference.

9. Don’t set unrealistic goals.
Finally, realize that you just might not be able to do everything you are used to doing. Your exercise goal for December is to keep in the active habit and make sure you don’t pile on the pounds before the New Year. Ask yourself, “Is an hour of exercise each night a realistic goal?” Don’t set yourself up to fail (or worse yet, to prove that exercising is impossible during the holidays). Be realistic, and you’ll be successful.

1. De-automate your housework and make your body work harder. Wash dishes, mix batters and open cans by hand, and hang your wash on the line instead of using a dryer.

2. Use whipped or softened butter or margarine. You’ll spread the flavor around using a lot less than if it were hard and you had to scrape it on.

3. Learn that it’s okay to say an assertive “No, thank you” when other people offer you food.

4. Hold a conference and explain your weight-loss wish to family, friends or doughnut-bearing co-workers. Ask them to understand if you turn down their dinners or candy.

5. Go out dancing, miniature golfing, bowling - anything active - if you normally sit around and play bridge or watch television. The most calories you can burn in an hour playing cards is 95, but waltzing can whisk away 195 to 305 for every hour on the floor, and an hour of square dancing can stomp away 330 to 510 calories.

6. Drink no-calorie sparkling waters when you’re out, instead of alcoholic beverages.

7. Set a realistic goal for yourself. “Take it one day at a time and don’t punish yourself for slipping,” says Suzann Johnson, a registered nutritionist with Weight Watchers International. “You’ll be more successful if you remember to be your own best friend.”

8. Exercise during television commercials. Those 3-minute spurts will keep you out of the kitchen.

9. Use good plate psychology. Don’t use place settings with intense colors such as violet, lime green, bright yellow or bright blue; they’re thought to stimulate the appetite. The same goes for primitive-looking pewter and wooden plates. Instead, appease your appetite with elegant place settings in darker colors. Choose plates with broad decorative borders and a slightly “bowled” design. You can fit less food in them.

10. Eat only at scheduled times in scheduled places and leave the table as soon as you’re finished eating, instead of lingering over the last bites.

11. Ask for smaller portions and don’t eat everything on your plate (unless you’re having steamed vegetables and fish, or an equally good-for-you meal).

12. Remove food stashed in inappropriate places - get the candy bars out of your desk drawer and remove the nut bowl from the coffee table.

13. Chew each bite of food at least ten times to really taste it and to make yourself eat more slowly.

14. Don’t skip meals. You’ll only overeat later.

15. Invite your spouse or house mate into the kitchen with you when you’re preparing meals and cleaning up to keep you from sampling as you go.

Every day we are bombarded with high calorie, high fat treats that not only look good but taste good too. It’s hard to resist these goodies but we know that if we give in each time we will soon find ourselves buying larger and larger size clothes.

In order to avoid giving in to each pleasure try some of these quick and easy fat fighting tips. You’ll find that you’ll save on calories and money on new larger sized clothes.

1. Start your diet with a food diary. Record everything you eat, what you were doing at the time, how you felt. That tells you about yourself - your temptation times, the emotional states that encourage you to eat - and may help you lose weight, once you see how much you eat.

2. If you’re about to cheat, allow yourself a treat, then eat only half and throw the other half away. When hunger hits, wait several minutes before eating and see if it passes.

3. Instead of eating the forbidden piece of candy, brush your teeth. The sweetness of the toothpaste may take your craving away.

4. Drink six to eight glasses of water a day. Water itself helps cut down on water retention because it acts as a diuretic. Taken before meals, it dulls the appetite by giving you that “full” feeling.

5. Diet with a buddy. Many successful weight-loss programs rely heavily on support groups: caring people who help one another succeed. Start your own, even with just one other person.

6. Avoid evening TV. Studies show that people who watch a lot of TV tend to be overweight. Overweight people will tell you that TV encourages them not only to sit still but also to snack.

7. Make dining an event. Eat from your own special plate, on your own special place mat, and borrow the Japanese art of food arranging to make your meal, however meager, look lovely. This is a trick that helps chronic overeaters and bingers pay attention to their food, instead of consuming it unconsciously.

8. Avoid consuming large quantities of fattening liquids, which are so easy to overdo. That includes alcohol.

9. Keep plenty of crunchy foods like raw veggies and popped popcorn on hand. They’re high in fiber, and they’re satisfying and filling.

10. Don’t lose too quickly. Be happy with a slower weight loss. Remember, you’re less likely to gain back what you lose slowly and your body isn’t going to sag.

11. Don’t eat with the radio or stereo on. Concentrate on eating every mouthful slowly and savoring each morsel.

12. Always eat with a utensil, even finger foods like fruit or bread. And if possible, use chopsticks. Unless you’re really adept, you’ll be forced to eat more slowly and take smaller bites.

13. Buy nonstick pans so you can saute without the addition of any fat;

14. Wear a belt or girdle that makes you aware of when you’ve eaten enough.