I know, I know, you haven't heard from me in a while.

Feel free to give me a swift cyberspace boot to the arse if you want to.

I actually I have a good reason or reasons as to why I've been M.I.A.

I've been suffering from a bad case of Holiday Hangover...ie, a whole lot of food, a whole lot family and a whole lot of doing nothing. I've probably gained 5-10 pounds during the Holiday (Yes, even I fall off the wagon every now and then)

I'll explain...

For over a week I have been in Bethalto, Illinois (For those of you who don't know where that is, it's a tiny town located 40 minutes north/east of St. Louis) staying with my fiancée's brother and his family for Thanksgiving.

The reason Brighid and I stayed for so long were for a number of reasons.

1. We are getting married June 9th, 2007 in St. Louis, so, we had to meet with our wedding planner for a number of things; including wedding invitations, flower arrangements, cake, guest list, wedding music....you name it, basically everything.

I pretty much said one of three things the entire time, "Yes, that's fine with me babe" "Sounds good Honey" or "No problem Brighid."

I'm not going to lie, even though we hired a wedding planner and I have participated probably more than the average guy, this wedding has been ALL Brighid.

She has been the driving force. Every last detail has been meticulously reviewed to her liking.

Understand that there would be NO wedding if it wasn't for her thoughtful planning.

2. We are in the process of buying a new home. We spent a couple days meeting with an agent to go over all the details. It's very exciting and I can't wait to see it when it's finally finished. I know I'm crazy for getting a new house built AND getting married in the same year but it'll be worth it.

Anyway, between all of this and spending time with Brighid's family for the Holidays, my schedule in relation to exercise has gotten off track a bit.

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Many of you may be experiencing the same situation. Well, I am here to tell you straight up...DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!

Is it impossible to be good with your eating and exercise during the Holidays?

No...You CAN still fit it in and stay on track.

BUT, in some cases (like mine) it's OK.

Now, I am by no means patting myself on the back for essentially being lazy. Not at all.

What I am saying is if you have the mentality that eating right and exercising is a lifestyle, you really put things in perspective.

I know that I will go back to my regular exercise and eating schedule which is cardio exercise 7days a week, (I'm actually about to hop on the elliptical after I write this) following the exercises in - The In-Home Personal Trainer and 3 x a week and following the nutrition plan - http://www.eatingforlife.com/

I understand that Thanksgiving, Christmas & the New Year's Holidays are microcosms in a year's time. Your body is a homeostatic organism. It maintains its natural equilibrium and it works at the efficiency you put it through.

So, in other words if I am on track 50 weeks out of 52, I don't have to worry about 2 weeks and neither should you.

Remember, staying in shape is a decision you make. It's a lifestyle.

If you gotten off track...so what. Simply get back on it.

All you have to do is plan what your eating and exercise schedule will be for every given week and you'll kill it! Until next time, Train Hard and Train Smart.

Jim Coughlin is a personal trainer and the owner of Coughlin Fitness & Results, a nationwide personal training company. He is also the author of The In-Home Personal Trainer, a helpful guide to successful in-home personal training in addition to other products and many other popular fitness articles.

Jim is very passionate at motivating people to empower themselves to live a healthy lifestyle through consistent exercise and proper nutrition. He has free weekly success tips which you are welcome to subscribe to on his website http://www.fitnessandresults.com