Yep, its starting to get dark earlier and earlier this time of year. The nights are getting a little chilly, maybe even cold, depending on just where you live.  Autumn is upon us and soon, it will be time for those little trick-or-treaters to come knocking at your door.

Its also the time for Halloween parties and get-togethers.  Everyone likes to come out, dressed in what they think is a great costume for the annual parties.  But  with the parties comes the party foods.  If you’ve been looking after yourself, weight and fitness wise through the course of the year, you know how tempting all those Halloween treats will be.  Most party-hosts go out of their  way to have a big variety of delicious foods on hand for you to choose from.  The problem is, eating a few of these treats can wind up adding about 3,000 calories to your already daily caloric intake.

Tempting treats are everywhere and it can be difficult to avoid them when you attend parties and other festivities. Plus, it’s the beginning of the holiday season, and if you get off track on Halloween, it can be the beginning of a downward spiral—and the end of your diet.

So because its going to be so easy to give into those temptations, we listed below a few tips you can follow so that just maybe you won’t over do it on the snicker-doodles and possibly more than a few glasses of spirits, and we don’t mean the enchanted ones, after all a ghostly apparition never put weight on your body, right?  We mean the liquid refreshments that are so readily available at adult parties.

1. Schedule a workout on the morning of Halloween. Whether you plan on hitting parties and imbibing or escorting your little ones for some trick-or-treating, make sure to schedule some time for exercise on Halloween day. Aim for the morning so that you get it out of the way and don’t find excuses for skipping the workout.

2. Strive for balance. Load up on protein and fiber all day long, so that you’re not feeling hungry by the time your get started with your Halloween activities. At your event, fill three quarters of your plate with healthy choices such as veggies and leave only a quarter free for treats. Yes, we know this is a hard thing to do, especially when you’re faced with some of your favorite delicacies, but moderation is always  the key to any well planned life choice. So,  go ahead, take a few of your  favorites, but make sure your plate size won't increase your waist size!

3. Hydrate. Proper hydration is key to all diets and programs for weight management. When you attend special events or are going to be around lots of tempting treats, drink lots of water to fill you up. This is even more essential if you plan to have alcoholic drinks.

4. Buy your least favorite candy. If you plan to stay home and hand out candy, buy types that you don’t really like. You’ll be less tempted to get off track.

5. Buy treats on Halloween day. Don’t hit the store early and have bags of candy sitting on your shelves for days on end,that temptation is  hard one to overcome. Go at the last possible minute, as in the day of. In addition to minimizing temptation, you’ll get your treats on sale as well.

Another great way to keep yourself under control and on track with your  current health conscious lifestyle  is to make sure  your  wearing your Fitness Tracker.  This way, depending on the make and model, you can be constantly reminded on just how well you’ve been doing so far this day.  Using your fitness tracker can be just the thing you need to be able to walk away from that buffet table once you’ve made up your  plate.  And believe me, people will take notice of what your eating and what you’re not, especially if they know you’ve been trying to eat right and exercise in order to have your body do an uptick for a healthier lifestyle.

If you don’t currently have a fitness tracker, first, why not?  Second, let me recommend one that can be a companion to you in providing the necessary “push” you need in order to stay committed to your healthier lifestyle.

The activity monitor I’m talking about is the Garmin Vivosmart 4 Wellness and Fitness Tracker    This small but powerful fitness monitor can be that conscious reminder of just how far you’ve come on your  fitness journey and may be just that “push” you need to stay away from those tempting treats and candy.  The Vivo 4 will not only track your daily activity, but it will also give smart notifications from your phone, track stress levels and has a pulse ox sensor. 

The  Garmin Vivosmart 4 Fitness Tracker comes loaded with fitness and wellness features to help you make the most of a healthier, more active lifestyle. A wrist-based Pulse Ox sensor lets you estimate blood oxygen saturation, even while you’re sleeping, or you can spot-check your oxygen levels anytime during the day. The device also monitors heart rate at the wrist and includes helpful tools such as all-day stress tracking, a relaxation breathing timer.  Using the Elevate™ heart rate data collected from your wrist, Vívosmart 4 can give you an idea of your current fitness level.  For added insight, Vívosmart 4 will notify you if your heart rate unexpectedly rises above a threshold you’ve set. If you’re inactive for more than 10 minutes and your heart rate stays above your set threshold, you’ll get an alert, that you can act on!

So, what better way than to have your own personal conscious like Disney’s Pinocchio’s “Jiminy Cricket” on your  wrist like the Garmin Vivosmart 4 Activity Tracker  to help keep you aware that fitness is a commitment that you  elected to make.

So, with your  Garmin at your wrist, it just might make it a little easier to forego those Halloween Treats, in and around that buffet table.

Happy Halloween!

Yes, the warmer weather is here and many of us have dusted off our bikes to get reacquainted with our favorite biking trails. You may have had to give your bike a once over to make sure it's in the best condition it can be. After all, you need to rely on it in order to get you out there on those trails and more importantly, bring you back safely, and without any mishaps.

In order to make sure your bikes up to the challenge, we put together a few simple checks you can make in order to be sure your bikes ready to peddle you onward.

1. Clean It! OK, that sounds like the obvious, but we mean properly clean it! Rinse it thoroughly, making sure to get into all the nooks and crannies, apply a reputable bike cleaner of your choice and leave to stand for a few minutes, then rinse clean.

Stick your bike in a stand and dry it with an industrial-spec paper cloth. Yes, it may be more cost effective to use that grease and mud-encrusted promotional t-shirt you have lying in the corner, but the point of this exercise is cleaning. Drying, as well as cleaning not only makes sure that all the muck is removed but also leaves the bike cleaner so that there’s no residue or paint damage. An old toothbrush is great for de-mudding cassettes and removing the wheels will help you to get right into the rear linkage.

2. Lubricate It: Think about the parts of your bike which rely on a good smothering of grease to move smoothly. Headsets, axles, bottom brackets and dropper/seatposts are all great places for mud, moisture and hasty post-ride, pre-pub washes to strip off the grease. A good quality bike-specific grease will hang around for as long as possible and a torque wrench will help to eliminate any creaks.

3. New bits (tires, grips, chain, lube)
You’ve got the whole summer of ripping turns ahead of you, so why not freshen up your ride? A new chain, cassette, and inner gear cables can make an unbelievable difference and will really go a long way towards replicating that ‘new bike’ feeling. New grips offer a nice new perch for your hands and new tires will open up levels of gripping the road, which has gradually disappeared from memory as your tread depth has worn away.
Why not try switching up your seat set-up slightly too? Moving your position around, even slightly, can dramatically alter how your bike feels out on the trails and won’t cost you a penny.

4. Seal lube:
Your suspension stanchions have been oscillating back and forth through their seals all winter long. Each cycle stripping grit and re-lubing in oil in equal measures. Every-Single-Cycle. Worth showing them some love then? Probably, yeah!
Take some fork oil on a cloth and apply it liberally to the base of the stanchion where it first contacts the seal. Cycle the fork or shock through its travel a couple of times, clean off any excess then repeat. If you’re lucky enough to have air-sprung suspension, then take a second to check your pressures.

Now that the basic checklist is complete, you may want to consider adding another component to your bikes arsenal. Lights. Yes, its summer and the daylight hours stretch out now for a couple hours and its light enough to see after 9 pm on most summer evenings. But with the passing of the 4th of July, the daylight hours are beginning to decline. And there may come times when you’re out at night and the shadows begin to encroach upon your biking trail. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a good reliable cycling lamp mounted to your ride so that you can not only see where you're going and what’s coming up around the corner, but any on-coming traffic can also be seen, by YOU!

The Garmin Varia Smart Cycling Light  is one such lamp! The Varia smart bike lights help to create a safer riding environment by adjusting to changing light conditions as well as bike speed when paired with select Garmin Edge computers. As speed increases, the headlight automatically projects light further ahead, to where it’s needed most. As the ambient light fades or gets brighter, both the headlight and tail light adjust automatically when paired with a light-sensing Edge 1000 bike computer. Beam cutoff prevents headlight from blinding oncoming drivers.

So, there you have it. With your bike having passed its checklist with flying colors and you're incorporating a safety zone of illumination by mounting the Garmin Varia Cycling light to your bike, your now ready to see where you're going and more importantly be seen by oncoming traffic.

It just gives you a sense of “ piece of mind” that you're doing all you can do in order to have some fun as you cycle, safely on down the road.