Eating is 80% of the battle...

If I had a penny for every client who assumed that 20% of the battle was nutrition and 80% was physical exercise, I would be a rich woman. I hate to break it to you, but the contrary is true; 80% is nutrition, while only 20% is the exercise. Lest you think I am reducing the significance of exercise (and therefore the need for people like me), hear me out. You HAVE to expend more calories then you are consuming, you you HAVE to exercise to get fit and stay fit. However if your calorie consumption is exceeding how many calories you are burning on a daily basis, you will gain weight. So you have to find that happy balance of eating enough calories to function during the day and engage in daily exercise, but not to exceed what you are burning.

The catch is knowing how many calories you are consuming. Individuals are often deceived about how many calories they "think" they are consuming and this eventually catches up to him/her with the extra 5, 10, 15 or 20 pounds over time. We tend to forget the dressing on the salad or the bread stick at dinner. These add up and can sabotage your progress.

The nutritional aspect of reaching your goals is probably the hardest part of the equation, because it forces you to take a good, long look at what you are puting in your body. It might be scary at first, but stick with it and you will be pleasently surprised at how your taste, desires, and needs will change.

I have tried tracking my calories and not tracking, and I got my leanest when I was using a online journal to keep track of what I was eating. It kept me accountable and made me open up my eyes to what I was really eating. I started back up yesterday and will continue with it until the 12 weeks are up....who knows I might still use it afterwards.

If you like writing things, pick up a journal at any local store and start tracking what you are eating. You might be surprised at what you find. If you are a little more tech savvy and want something you can use online, try www.fitday.com. Its a free website, that allows you to log your food in from a database of hundreds of foods, or you can create your own food for anything you don't find on there.

Tip: You can exercise until the cows come home, but if you don't change your diet and start assessing how many calories you are consuming and how many you are expending you might find yourself disappointed with the results. Start tracking today. Remember, "Eat to train, don't train to eat!"