12 Ways to Boost Your Will Power!

There WILL be times when will power isn't enough to keep you on the straight and narrow. We all know that - we've all experienced it. It's that incredibly overwhelming, spine-tingling desire for chocolate or sweets that suddenly grips you as you come upon a Dunkin Donuts store, causing you to cut off the person beside you in your manic attempt to cross two lanes of traffic to make the entrance to the eatery...as if this is the only chance to eat chocolate you will ever have again in your life! Or the way you convince yourself that you deserve a night off of exercise because your boss yelled at you in front of your co-workers, your teen spilled soda on the keyboard of the brand-new computer, you had a flat tire on your way to little Katie's soccer practice, and Fido had trouble controlling his canine functions all day. So before "life happens", here's some tips to help boost your will power in advance:

1. If by chance you cave, and eat that candy bar or skip that workout, it DOES NOT mean you've failed and have ruined everything. All it means is that you've been reminded you are human and you've had a bad day. The next day is a new day with no mistakes in it yet! Dust yourself off and start fresh again. Just try to control the thought: "Well, I've already eaten two donuts tonight, what's three more going to hurt?"

2. When you're not sure you're feeling hungry but you feel like putting something in your mouth, try drinking a glass of water first. We are terrible at keeping ourselves hydrated, and we mistake hunger for thirst. Wait 10 minutes after the drink to see if you still feel hungry.

3. Try brushing your teeth when you feel a craving. That fresh minty breath doesn't go well with a bag of chips!

4. The earlier in the day you get in the habit of exercising, the less likely you'll find reasons to postpone and cancel the workout! And try always to have something you can fall back on when there's inclement weather - an exercise DVD, a stationary bicycle, a treadmill, etc. Remember, better health isn't all about just changing diet - it's about exercise (moving your body more), too. This can't be stressed enough!

5. When you're unpacking groceries, cut up the raw vegetables and wash the fruit before you even put them in the fridge. You'll be more apt to snack on cucumbers, carrots, grapes, broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc. if they're handy and ready for when your cravings strike. I never put a watermelon or cantaloupe in my fridge until I've cut it up. I just have made it a habit to cut them up in bite-size pieces and place them in a storage container before they see the light inside my fridge! And with today's marketing, you can purchase precut veggies and fruits for those of you who wouldn't spend the time to prepare these fresh items for snacks.

6. Don't skip breakfast. I'll say it again. Don't skip breakfast! We've all heard that before, but it's true....you will want more later if you starve now. And you'll be more likely to reach for something quick and unhealthy to satisfy that hunger once it hits. By the way, coffee does not constitute breakfast! And fried hash browns and cinnamon rolls would not be a healthy choice - delicious yes, healthy, no! I'm usually not hungry in the morning, but I force myself to eat a fruit (usually a banana) and sometimes some healthy grain, like Bran Flakes or oatmeal. It's not a lot either - not a heaping bowlful - just a 1/2 cup or so to make sure I'm getting fiber, which will help me feel full longer and provides me with wonderful nutrients to fuel my body. And pleeeeeease, don't load up on sugary cereal, either. You will end up hungry in no time and have not given yourself the proper fuel to get through the bulk of the morning!

7. Drink water, and lots of it! Don't just save drinking water to avoid a craving. Drink throughout the day! Morning till night. Eight 8 oz. glasses of water is the recommended amount. It's not much if you space it throughout the day. I like to buy bottled water in the ginormous size and sip on it all day long. Then you have the goal right in front of you without counting individual glasses of H2O. This will help curb your appetite, flush impurities from your body, and even improve your skin! Look at that - an anti-aging formula right out of your sink!

8. Place your workout clothes next to the bed. You'll be less tempted to skip that workout if all you have to do is roll out of the bed right into your sneakers and slip on your clothes then and there.

9. Better yet, partner up for your exercise! My friend Tina and I would run every morning together at 6:00 while we were in college. We'd be done by 6:30 and be the first ones in the eating hall. Yes, you read that right....college girls getting up at 5:45 a.m. to hit the pavement by 6:00 a.m.! You see, we planned that on purpose. If I knew she was getting up at that ungodly hour to exercise for me, then I had better well get my buns out of bed and not keep her waiting. And she felt the same responsibility toward me. I'll tell you what - there were many a morning that burrowing under my covers would have been my choice - but knowing Tina was down the hall getting her running clothes on when my alarm went off made me get my rear in gear!

10. Pick only two things to change about your health at once. Stick to changing only one poor nutrition habit and only one thing for increasing your activity level, until you get those two things under control. Once you've conquered those two goals, you can make two more, so on and so forth. These can be as simple as "I will not eat after 7:00" and "I will park in the farthest parking lot at work," to "I will not eat products with white flour" and "I will walk 45 minutes six days a week. " The range of goals will depend on your current state of health - remember, these are individual goals, but the end result is the same - healthier bodies!!!

11. Try eating several small meals throughout the day instead of three large ones. If you keep your blood-sugar level constant throughout the day, you'll be less apt to binge. And you keep it constant by eating proper foods every few hours (sugar only wreaks havoc with this level). Proper foods would be lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and whole grains. It might look like this: 7:00am (banana and wholegrain cereal) 10:00am (a slice of low-fat cheese and a few multigrain crackers) 1:00pm (some baked chicken slices thrown in a salad chockfull of different veggies - spinach, lettuce, cukes, tomatoes, onions - some sunflower seeds, and a small apple) 3:00pm (a small yogurt - Stonyfield is my fave because you can buy it at your local grocery store and it has the least amount of sugar and no artificial sugars - and toss some walnuts or almonds in it) 6:00 pm (a lean protein - fish, chicken, turkey, soy - steamed veggies, broccoli anyone? and some wild rice).

12. If you do eat traditional meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner), then make lunch your larger meal! If you make a mistake and eat too much earlier in the day, you still have the rest of the day to counter it with more activity. But if you binge in the evening, you'll just go to bed and wake up feeling "hippy" - literally.

You CAN do this!!! Understand your weaknesses and temptations, and confront and conquer them with well-laid! You will fall once in a while, but have the courage to get back up and try, try again.

The choices you make today determine your tomorrow!