You're sick of it aren't you? You know what I'm talking about -- the long winter and the resulting weight gain and lack of motivation that comes from it. Spring is just around the corner and you're deathly afraid of trying on some of your spring and summer clothes, aren't you?

I'm here to tell you that it's OK. There's time to make changes and reap the rewards that come from a balanced fitness and nutrition program. However, it won't happen overnight.

The human body can comfortably lose up to two pounds per week without losing muscle. In six weeks, you can lose approximately ten to twelve pounds of pure body fat.

This alone will get you propelling into spring and set you up for a marvelous summer.

I've made no secret as to what I believe the key components to losing fat are: maintaining consistency with one of the many eDiets nutrition programs, weight training to stimulate the metabolism and cardiovascular exercise to burn additional calories. Combine this strategy with reasonable consistency and you will get to your goal.

The problem is some of you have been sitting around and not really doing much of anything all winter. So, how can I expect most of you to implement my prescription?

I've always said that motivation needs to be coaxed, not forced. When you gently coax motivation it eventually grows stronger and becomes habit.

pagebreak For those who need to get a jumpstart, I decided to think about ways you can add some elements of fitness and smart nutrition into your daily activity. Just some simple elements to get you on the right track.

The goal is to get you moving and having some fun without placing excessive pressure on you. The result will be YOU wanting more -- that's when the motivational forest fire begins.

The following 10 tips are simple and effective methods to jumpstart your fitness program:

1. Three 10-minute workouts spread through the day can be just as effective as one 30-minute session. Try to do three 10-minute bursts of activity such as 10 minutes of housework, a 10-minute walk at lunch and another 10-minute walk with your spouse or a friend in the evening.

2. Eliminate one portion of food from one daily meal. If you usually have a sandwich with cheese for lunch, just eliminate the cheese. If you have a salad for lunch, but it's smothered with croutons, just eliminate the croutons. I once trained a client who asked me to help him change his daily lunch of a cheeseburger and French fries. I told him to simply eliminate the cheese from the burger for two weeks and then we would review again. He thought I was going to suggest broiled chicken and vegetables. However, remember what I said about habits and motivation being coaxed -- not forced.

3. At work, don't e-mail or use the phone if you're in the same building as the person you wish to speak with, get off your butt and walk over to the person.

4. Make all family events involve physical activity, including birthdays and holidays. Go for a big group walk after dinner. Make family outings include physical activities such as volleyball on the beach, hiking through the forest or playing Frisbee at a family picnic.

5. Turn on the music and do aerobic housecleaning. C'mon, make it fun!

pagebreak 6. Perform calf lifts (toe raises) while cooking dinner.

7. If you have kids, teach them how to perform jumping jacks and then help them "practice" each day (very entertaining as well as good exercise).

8. Pack your lunch three days per week. I know you love going out to lunch every day. However, if you make a healthy lunch just three days per week, you'll be coaxing a realistic habit. This will make you look forward to your lunches out and appreciate your newfound discipline at the same time. I guarantee it will empower you.

9. Take your kids to the park and then walk or jog around the playground area. This is how one eDiets member performs her cardio in the spring and summer.

10. Work on your posture. It's amazing to see the number of people who slouch. If you stand up straight you'll look leaner, younger and healthier. This is a real easy one, but you'll be surprised how years of slouching will make this the most challenging of all the tips.

Hey, I know this won't make you an Olympic athlete or give you six-pack abs,but that's not the goal. I just want to see you making an effort to improve. If you take two to three of your favorite tips above -- that will be the beginning of something great.