A: Hi, Venessa. Congratulations on your weight loss! That is a great accomplishment! As you know, body weight moves up and down slightly – maybe one to three pounds – and will not stay exactly the same all the time. It can’t. But a 12-pound weight gain definitely has a reason. I can imagine that since you are saying sweets are your weakness, that it is also a reason for weight gain.

If jogging hurts your knee at this point, mix up your cardio workouts. Use an elliptical or cross-trainer along with spinning and/or rowing, resting in-between so that your knee manages to heal and recover a bit. If your knee problem persists, definitely go and see a doctor. For a “bad” knee, you might use a foam roller. Stretch and recovery between training days is very, very important.

Throughout this process, you will have to remind yourself what is more important – your physical health and a satisfying life, or giving in to your sweet tooth?! Can you will your way through it? Is it worth it? Are you worth it? I would answer YES, and the feeling of success will just increase your motivation … you will feel great!!

Ask your body what’s really up. I think you have the answer right there: is it the sweet tooth and less exercise? Be honest. You deserve it!!

Do you have a question? Don’t be shy – ask it here!

Fall is here! It’s the season of dramatic color and chilly nights. In the colder and darker areas of the country, the decrease in sunlight signals our bodies that it’s time to hibernate. (California might not experience it to the same extent but trust me, we feel it here, too.) It can be difficult to find motivation, but slowing down is not necessarily an obstacle, just merely a bump in the road on our long and exciting journey to a healthier body and lifestyle.

A big part of living a healthy life is listening to what the body needs, and accepting the changes it goes through. Let’s invite some new movement to play with, to get the body going and the mind motivated again. Here are a few things that bring the fun into staying fit…

Hula hoops
Go back to the old days when you were hula hooping on the playground! Did you think that it was exercise? Hula hooping can be a fun cardio workout as well as core and abs all in one. It can burn up to 400 kcal per hour! It’s very important to stretch before and after, but other than that, it’s a safe and fun exercise. There are hoop DVDs, but the easiest thing is to go to the nearest Target, pick up a hula hoop, and get going!

TRX Suspension Training
These are traditional strength exercises performed while hanging suspended from the ceiling. Your core must be involved and you will be working out your entire body, as you use your own body weight as resistance. Of course, it is important to receive proper guidance to avoid risks. In my business of personal training, everyone seems to have a TRX Suspension Training strap available for anywhere and anytime training!

YOSPIN fusion
Mix 30 minutes of yoga with 30 minutes of spinning for an excellent body-mind workout. The cardio-intensive cycling followed by flexibility-increasing yoga helps stretch and condition muscles. Switching between the two activities can lead to injury, so a mindful stop and switch – waiting until the heart rate recovers before starting yoga – is imperative. If you don’t have spinning or yoga at your gym, go to a spinning class, download yoga to your MP3 player, and do your own thing!

Of course, you can also create your own fusions of your favorite exercise routines! Do you have any tips to trade? Any fun workouts like hula hoping that you would like to share? Please let us know!

Live Life Loud!

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Check out my e-book, Your Life Force: Training for Strength & Harmony.

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This is emotional eating, and it often leads to weight-related illness. It is a problem for many of us. Generally speaking, all of the people I train who have serious weight issues have difficulty managing food on account of stress and anxiety. Rarely do their weight problems have to do with a lack of awareness about which foods are good or bad; that knowledge is widespread.

Are you an emotional eater? One way to answer this question is to carry a food diary. When hunger pangs set in, note how you feel. Are you stressed, have you argued with the kids or your partner, is there too much to do at work? Analyze whether your hunger is real, or if it was aroused by an emotional feeling.

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One way to treat emotional eating is through cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which helps you identify and change unhealthy thought patterns. For more information on CBT, visit the Mayo Clinic and Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies sites. I will also have some exercises for overcoming emotional eating my upcoming book, Your Life Force.

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