Tired of those winter pounds sneaking up on you? When the weather won't let you get out to the trail to finish your daily run, you can always find a fun alternative to keep those pounds from creeping in on you.

What if you could turn winter's cold weather into a game? Instead of resisting the weather, you can use it to your advantage to get exercise, to burn calories and to improve your fitness. You can also use it to bond with friends and deepen relationships.

Here are five fun and social ways to exercise in the cold.

==> #1: Race through the Snow

Bundle yourselves up and go for a race! Racing through the snow poses unique challenges. You have to plunge through the snow's resistance, find easy paths and combat tough visibility.

If conditions are really bad, do the race in pairs to make sure nobody gets in a bind out there on their own.

==> #2: Host a Pillow Fight

When it's snowing, freezing or foggy outside, bring the party home. Instead of working out in the cold, why not get your heart racing indoors with a pillow fight party instead?

You can do it just once, or make it a regular thing. Combine the pillow fight with other physical activities to make it a workout for the whole group.

==> #3: Do the 100 Push-Up Challenge

There's something about the number one hundred that's inherently appealing - especially when doing a challenge. That's one of the reasons why the 100 push-up challenge was created and one of the reasons so many people took it on.

The 100 push-up challenge is a free online challenge you can take on. They provide a six-week training program designed to take you from where you are now to doing 100 push-ups.

This challenge will help build your shoulder muscles, your biceps, your triceps, your chest muscles and even your back and buttock muscles. It's also quite an aerobic exercise and will give your cardiovascular system a good workout as well.

==> #4: The Speed House Cleaning Party

Have a garage that hasn't been cleaned out in a couple years? Or an attic that needs rearranging? Or maybe you've been meaning to redecorate an area of the house for some time?

Since you're going to be stuck in the house anyway, why not make a party out of it? Invite a bunch of your friends, bring some food, put on some music and have a house cleaning party. If it's a small area, you could do it with just the family.

==> #5: Twister

Twister is a fantastic social and physical game that really shines in winter. Invite a few of your friends over, put on some music, lay out the Twister map and let the games begin. Again, you can combine this Twister party with some of the other activities described here.

These are some of the many ways you can use winter time to your advantage. Instead of exercising alone, use winter as an opportunity to get together with friends and work out together.

Looking better and feeling great may be their own rewards when you lose weight, but it never hurts to reward yourself for reaching goals and sticking to your eating plan. Building incentives is a time-honored way of helping keep yourself on track. Did you pass up that piece of cheesecake at lunch? Reward yourself with a pot of fresh herbs! Did you get out and exercise for your daily half-hour? Take a luxurious bath with scented oils.  The possibilites are endless, and can be customized to your preferences.

Looking better and feeling great may be their own rewards when you are losing weight, but it never hurts to reward yourself for reaching goals and sticking to your eating plan. Building in incentives is a time-honored way of helping keep yourself on track. Did you pass up that piece of cheesecake at lunch? Reward yourself with a pot of fresh herbs! Did you get out and exercise for your daily half-hour? Take a luxurious bath with scented oils. Went the whole week without falling off your new routine? That calls for a big reward! Treat yourself to an evening out, or buy that book you've been dying to read.

Need some excuses for rewarding yourself? Try setting one of these goals to give yourself something to shoot for:

1. Weight loss goals.

Pretty traditional here - treat yourself to something special whenever you can mark off ten pounds toward your goal weight. Get a manicure to make you feel extra special.

2. Look, Ma, I dropped a whole size!

Well, that certainly calls for buying yourself something in that new size, even if it's just a pair of new exercise sneakers!

3. Whew! I made it ALL the way through the half-hour workout without stopping ONCE!

Now that's impressive! Call your best friend or your mom and brag -or just chat. Even if it's long distance.

4. I didn't do it! That chocolate chip cookie dough sundae was calling my name, but I turned my back and walked away.

In that case, don't you think you deserve fresh flowers for your
desk?

5. I finally fit into THAT dress!

I'd say that calls for wearing it out somewhere special, wouldn't you? Take yourself out dancing to show it off!

6. I lost weight for the third week in a row. I'm so proud of myself!

Here's an ongoing reward - for every pound you lose, drop a dollar or two into a jar, and watch the money build up. Entertain yourself with plans on how you'll spend it when you reach your goal weight.

7. I got stuck for three weeks, but I finally budged from that plateau!

I'll tell you what - sticking to a diet when you're not seeing results is one of the hardest things that you'll ever do. Get yourself something that will make it easier to reward yourself. For example, buy a blender for whipping up frozen fruit smoothies.

8. I'm halfway there!

You deserve a Halfway Party, don't you think? Pull out all your old fat clothes and try them on so you can feel great about how far you've
come.

9. I've been slugging away forever, and I'm starting to get 
discouraged...

Okay, so it's not a 'reward' situation -- but it is. You deserve a reward for sticking to it this long. Want a quick pick-me-up? Pick up the phone and get together with someone you haven't seen in months.This will guarantee that you’ll receive compliments at how great you look!

10. I did it! I made it! I reached my goal weight!!

Well, sweetheart, that calls for pulling out the stops! Remember that money you've been paying yourself for losing weight? Time to cash it in for something fabulous!

Eating healthy and losing weight are gifts that you give yourself, though they may not feel like it at first. By rewarding yourself along the way, you’ll not only increase the chances of your success, but you’ll enjoy the process a whole lot more!

Are cravings controlling your eating habits? Well, they don't have to anymore. Cravings are overated. Learn how to use your mind to change what you crave. You will lose weight.

If I were to ask you which foods temp you, most likely they wouldn’t be ones that are very healthy. I bet they would be ice cream, potato chips, pizza, or something along those lines. In fact, in your mind right now as you’re reading, you are probably thinking about a food that isn’t healthy. Well, aren’t you? Stop for a moment and think about it……………….. The point I’m going to make in this article is that you can change what you crave by changing how you think.

Every new client that comes to my office for weight-loss has a “craving problem.” But I don’t see it as a problem at all. I see it as a solution. Cravings are over-rated. They are hodge-podge and we don’t have to be controlled by them. We don’t have to feel temped by ice cream, cookies or 20-ounce prime ribs. Instead, we can be tempted by watermelon, pineapple, oranges or apples; foods like that. Think that sounds crazy? Well it isn’t and you’ll see why.

When I first sit down and talk with a client about their eating habits, I gather everything I need to know about exactly what they eat and how they eat. The culprit to their weight problem always boils down to snacking, picking, eating foods that are unhealthy or just plain over-eating. Then I’ll ask them what fruits and vegetables they like. I’m yet to come across someone who hates fruit or hates every vegetable under the sun. Finally I’ll ask them how often they eat fruits or vegetables and it’s always a lot less often than the unhealthy stuff.

After I’ve gathered my arsenal of information, we do our thing. I’ll have my clients lay back in my recliner and close their eyes. I’ll direct their mind to a peaceful place, and within minutes they’ll be relaxed like never before. Then I start talking about their favorite fruits and vegetables. I’ll ask them to imagine taking a bite of their favorite juicy, ripe fruit and to feel the juices tickling their taste buds. I’ll say to their mind, “from now on anytime you have a craving for food, you will think of a juicy, ripe piece of fruit. And bingo!!! Next thing you know these are exactly the kinds of foods they start desiring. Why? Because anytime you close your eyes and bring yourself to a calm, relaxed place, your subconscious mind emerges, and it is this part of the mind that controls what you crave. Change your thoughts and you’ll change what you crave. Simple.

Let’s look at this from another perspective. Let’s say pineapple is your favorite fruit. Now, if you were sitting with me right now and I gave you a juicy chunk of it, you would enjoy it thoroughly. And you’d want more, right? Of course. Now, let’s say I reached into my refrigerator, whipped-out a piece of chocolate cake and said, “choose one.” Most likely you would opt for the pineapple because you just had a teaser-piece, which would make your mind want more. The fact of the matter is this: you enjoy your favorite fruits just as much as you enjoy your favorite junk foods, you just believe otherwise.

Again, cravings are over-rated. The mere mention of that devilish word always seems to conjures-up images of high calorie, high fat foods only because these are the foods you are most exposed to in our media driven world. Your subconscious gets accustomed to this and just doesn’t know any better. Change your minds images and you’ll change your cravings. Here’s a quick 5 minute mental exercise you can begin doing now to help you start changing the way you crave food.

Step 1: Find a comfortable, quiet place where there are no distractions. Begin breathing deeply until you are quite relaxed. Next, count backwards from 10-1, slowly. With each count, imagine that your mind is drifting deeper and deeper.

Step 2: After you have finished counting, imagine that you are relaxing by yourself in your favorite place. A secluded beach or a log in the woods will do the trick. Imagine yourself feeling so very relaxed and peaceful.

Step 3: Next, imagine a basket full of your favorite fresh picked fruit sitting right next to you. See it clearly in your mind, the color, the feel, everything about that fruit. Imagine taking a bite of that juicy fruit and enjoying it like never before.

Step 4: Repeat the following suggestion to yourself 10 times: “From now on, anytime I think of eating, I immediately feel a craving for fruit.”

Step 5: Count from 1 to 5, slowly, and when you reach 5 open your eyes.