Tomorrow is the deadline for my book, The Everything Flat Belly Cookbook. I'm thrilled with Adams Media for hiring me to write it but on occasion, my body has been very angry at them for giving me such a tight deadline. This uber short deadline has caused little Miss Fitzness Trainer to sit for 12 hours at a time with my head buried in my laptop quite often. My brain is thrilled, but my back has been bummed.

The only reason I've survived is because I'm already really good at taking care of my body. I've never had to sit down for such long periods of time as a requirement of my job, but when the side effects of doing so set in ... I knew how to respond.

I imagine a lot of you are stuck at a desk for hours on a daily basis. I feel for you. I also have some ideas to help you survive it without all of the stiff, achy and strained body parts.

Ever been caught with remnants of food stuck smack dab in between two teeth? Not so bad if you're alone and make this discovery. But when caught with a pal, in public, or while trying to make an good impression, a chunk of lodged spinach, while a healthy adornment, can be quite embarrassing. So, what should you do about this sticky situation? Good Housekeeping offers these options. Try to pick the correct solution -- then check your answer after the break.

1) Use a fingernail, a toothpick, a fork, or a matchbook to pry it out.
2) Cover your mouth with your napkin, then use your fingernail to work it out inconspicuously.
3) Politely excuse yourself to go to the bathroom.
4) Leave it until after the meal -- after all, you'll survive.

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Aren't we all dying to be told to eat some bread....lots of bread? Unfortunately...I recently dealt with a pretty disgusting reason to chow down on some firm crusted French bread. Ick, ack and yuck! There was a hair stuck in my throat, and I was going nuts! I know........gross! But it was true. Fortunately that's about the grossest thing I've dealt with in a while, so I suppose I should feel pretty lucky? Hmmm.

Anyway. I complained about it to some friends, and they too had experienced the same thing at some point. Very annoying. So I Googled the question and fortunately found an answer. Dr. Khaghn recommended drinking milk to break down the hair (which could take up to three weeks!) Or ... eating some bread which had a good chance of grabbing on to the hair and dragging it down. I chose the latter, and thank goodness it worked. (Now it's probably stuck in my stomach.)

So! If you ever are violated by a hair that won't go away ... find some milk and bread. If you ever want a great excuse to devour some white flour .. chow down on some hair!

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Frustrated because it seems like no matter how hard you try to eat right and exercise the needle on the scale just won't budge? Or maybe you were making progress until suddenly it stopped, and now you don't know why or how to get it moving again?

Ugh, that's the pits. The good news is that it could be a simple situation of you inadvertently sabotaging yourself. Do you ever grocery shop when you're hungry? Take a lot of "taste tests" when cooking? You might be surprised at some of the ways calories and pounds can sneak into your life -- right past you and your diet plan.

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What are your fitness roadblocks? We all have them, and learning how to blow right past them is a big part of success in a health and fitness plan. Consistency is key, right? We've all heard that countless times, but it's nearly impossible to be consistent when there are so many obstacles that get in way -- most of which are completely out of our own control. Things like bad weather (that's my biggest one lately), work running late, kids staying home from school sick, etc. etc. Think back over the last couple weeks or the last month: how many workouts did you miss? What were the reasons?

Well now there's no more excuses! Because once you know what the problem is you can form a plan of attack. Need some help with that part? Don't we all! Here are some tips from eDiets on ideas for blowing past your specific roadblocks to get to a healthier, happier you:

• Time: Always running out of time? Try scheduling your calendar weeks or a month ahead of time and block out your exercise time right away. Cook on Sunday night for the rest of the week (this is a challenge to learn but so well worth it!) so you can hit the gym after work and dinner won't suffer, talk to your boss about your plan and ask for a flexible schedule (longer lunch, in later, leave earlier), and set an alarm for when it's time to exercise!
• Always be ready: You never know when an opportunity might strike, so be ready at all times by keeping your shoes in your car and a change of clothes in the trunk. Maybe you got waylaid by rainy weather yesterday but if it's sunny over your lunch hour today...

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There are a million and one ways to kink up a perfectly good exercise plan, most of which somehow involve you losing your motivation to workout and/or stick to a healthy eating plan. The worst kinks, however, are when a plateau hits right in the middle of all your hard work. When right at your most motivated all of your weight loss progress stops for some unknown reason and your work seems to suddenly have no effect, no matter what you do.

It's called a plateau and it happens to everybody! There are usually a couple of reasons why, 1) being that your body has become used to the workouts you're doing and it's time to switch things up, or 2) you're actually working too hard and your body is tired and needs more rest between workouts. Breaking through a plateau takes effort and planning but shouldn't be an impossible thing to do. Follow these simple steps to kick it back into gear and start seeing results again from your efforts:

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It's all to easy to get stuck in a rut or hit a plateau, and let all your 'exercising charisma' fly right out the window. And then of course disappointment and frustration settle in its place, and pretty soon the weight and flab start climbing back on until everything you already gained, however small it seemed, is gone.

As important as it is to make exercise and fitness a part of your regular "routine," it's equally important to recognize when that same routine is turning sour for you and doing you more harm than good. Adding some spontaneous improvisation (safely) to your workouts can give them some "spice" and rejuvenate the whole experience. And it works for pretty much anything -- even structured methods like Yoga and Pilates have room for your own personal flair!

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It's an unfortunate truth that the more weight you lose the harder your body works to hold onto the remaining pounds, but sometimes reviving a stalled fitness plan is as simple as giving your metabolism a jumpstart. Here a few tips from Readers Digest on how to burn more calories and boost your metabolism:

• Drink green tea. They suggest 3 servings a day to reap the benefits of not only the caffeine, but also the polyphenols that some studies show increase metabolism.
• Use interval training to get more calorie bang for your buck. You'll burn more calories in the same time by varying the intensity of your workout, i.e. jogging for short spurts when you normally only walk.
• Fidget. I don't know if I buy this one, but the article says that if you drum your fingers or bounce your knees you can burn up to 500 calories a day. If it's true that's awesome!
• Remember not to cut calories too severely. A high metabolism can't survive in starvation mode.
• Drink enough water. Put rubber bands on your wrist every morning to remind and track how many glasses of water you have left to drink that day.
• Don't let yo-yo dieting discourage you. Good news! Your metabolism is not permanently affected by bad dieting habits in the past.
• Eat small meals several times throughout the day. This one goes along with making sure you don't cut calories too severely: you have to feed a fast metabolism.
• Go off-roading when you walk. It takes more energy, and therefore more calories, to walk over uneven surfaces like dirt trails than it does over a flat smooth sidewalk or paved surface. Walking on sand or through shallow water (the shoreline of a beach) also adds extra resistance and calorie-burning.

Some of the other tips in the article include bumping up your protein intake, exercising outdoors, and including more hot peppers in your diet. Obviously, not all of these ideas will work for everyone (I can't stand very spicy food at all, so no hot peppers for me!). And although they vary from 'good sound advice we've all heard before' to 'somewhat obscure ideas that may or may not work,' it's definitely a list that will get you thinking about how to get your body moving, your metabolism rising, and those calories burning!

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If you're looking for a fast and efficient way to get in shape that needs little space and equipment, then consider indulging your inner child by taking up jump roping.

Even though it's most commonly thought of as a kid's activity, jump roping has long been used in training by boxers. And in recent years it has been gaining popularity for training in all kinds of other sports, including basketball and tennis, because of its awesome total-body benefits. Jumping rope for only 15 minutes will burn around 200 calories, and it will strength your heart, muscles and bones. Jumping rope also promotes agility and balance, and improves coordination, rhythm, and timing. A nice list of "features" for an exercise to have! And jumping rope doesn't necessarily deserve it's negative reputation as being hard on the knees and hips -- it's actually easier on your body than running (due to the fact that you land on the balls of your feet and can better absorb the impact).

Getting started jump roping is definitely inexpensive -- all you need is a good pair of cross trainers and a rope. When shopping for a jump rope there is no right or wrong: plain rope or beaded, thick or thin -- it's really just a matter of personal taste as far as weight of the rope and the sound it makes as you use it. If you're really cheap you can even pull down a piece of clothesline from the backyard! But whatever kind of rope you choose, one important thing to get right is the length: when you step in the middle of the rope and hold up both ends they should just reach your armpits/chest area.

As far as form goes, make sure you warm-up and stretch first. Then make sure you stand up straight while jumping with your head held high, keeping your shoulders relaxed and your elbows to your sides. Jump low and avoid hard surfaces like concrete to minimize the impact on your joints, and like any physical activity you should consult your doctor before getting started.

Jump roping is not for everyone, but it definitely deserves a look to see if it's for you. It's so easy and burns calories so quickly it might be just the thing to help you liven up your routine if you're bored, or help break through a nasty fitness plateau.

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