Is your New Year health "pep" and dedication waning? If it is, don't worry. You are not alone. This is the time that — unfortunately — many of us fall off of our health horse. YOU do not have to fall. You just need to come up with new strategies for success. One possible strategy is to enlist a fitness buddy. A friend makes anything more fun. Plus, you are less likely to skip a workout if you are meeting someone.

I really dislike any iteration of the concept that anyone should lose weight or exercise to become a "whole new" person. If I gained weight or adopted unhealthy habits I would never want to be a "whole new me." I like me. Instead I would work to become a version of me who loves myself enough to exercise and consume healthy food.

This year instead of hoping to be a "whole new you," decide to become a version of yourself who exercises and eats well. You are enough. You are worthy. Your body is not a garbage can, so don't put garbage food into it. Your health is important, so prioritize daily movement.

December can be a tricky health month. But you don't have to fall completely off of your health horse. Instead "manage" December with these four simple tricks - live by my "love it" rule, always take a "mindfulness moment" before you eat anything, make simple substitutions whenever possible and make movement a "non-negotiable."

The holidays can be stressful. December becomes nothing but holiday eating, obligations, and shopping; we wake up January 1st exhausted, drained, and unhealthy. This feeling is not inevitable. It may be unrealistic to try to lose weight in December, BUT you don't have to gain weight either.

Yes, making healthier choices can be tricky in social situations, but it is possible to adopt a healthier lifestyle and still socialize — it just takes some mindfulness, preparation, creativity, and most importantly, a really good PLAN!

Now, I have been running for (gulp) over 15 years. When I first started running I was too nervous to run outside in colder temperatures. I get that adapting to different temperatures can be tricky, especially for newbie runners. I have been there, done that. The lesson I learned is not to be intimidated by the cold.

Sharing my story with others and the success that the treadclimber gave me, is something I truly enjoy doing. This machine changed my life. It gave me results, it showed me I could do this and it's been almost 3 years and I've kept it off. I can't tell you how humbling and just great I feel doing it, knowing that people are hearing my story and thinking - I could do that too. It warms my heart in a way I can't explain.

To catch you up, Finding Your Fit is "A Compassionate Trainer's Guide to Making Fitness a Lifelong Habit: it provides readers with practical tools that will allow them to connect the dots between wanting to make a health and fitness change and actually making it. Finding Your Fit is the "anti–Biggest Loser" handbook for realistic, lifelong health: a motivational handbook with realistic strategies and practical information to help readers initiate and then follow through and adopt a long-term healthy lifestyle."

So, I wrote a book! It is called Finding Your Fit. Needless to say, I am pretty excited! The book hits stores October 1st, 2016. I feel like a kid getting ready for Christmas; I am counting down the days until I can walk into Indigo and say "Where would I find Kathleen Trotter's new book?" I am assuming the answer will be "In the health and wellness section," but maybe I will get lucky and it will be on one of the "staff recommendation" tables. Fingers crossed!

SHHHH Want to know a Secret ?

So I'm sure most of us have heard of "The Secret". The book is no secret but its idea really does work! There is one thing they don't like to focus on though and that's the work part.