6 Pounds of Chicago

My problem, when it comes to diet and exercise, isn't knowing what is right and wrong and isn't even the lack of having a good plan.  It's that I posses no discipline. Zip, zero, zilch.  Berta, the 300 pound Italian girl inside me, Berta, always wins out when there are tasty treats about.

I headed out for two weeks of business travel.  I packed up apples, halos, and granola bars.  I cut up celery sticks, cucumbers, and carrots.  My iPod was loaded with awesome workout tunes and I packed up an extra bag just for sneakers, sports bras, and running gear.

The plan: eat well, exercise daily, and use these two weeks of business travel to amp up physically.

The reality: 

Tricks to Help You Stick to It

  How are you doing on your New Year's resolution?  I don't mean planning on next year's already.  How are you doing with this year's?  Yes, I know. I am the only one still talking about it in May. How unfashionable!

It's not hopeless. You can get back on track with your fitness and nutrition goals with a little help, and a few tricks. Here are some tactics to keep you on track when that devil on your shoulder is trying to tempt you.

Cheers to the Fricken' Cupcake

Did a double workout yesterday; P90X then 30 minutes on the elliptical all because my kids wanted me to bake cupcakes.  I know me, and when it comes to sweets - no discipline.  So rather than worry about it I just put my tunes on and got in an extra  30 minutes of cardio. Every song that came up on my favorite play list I inserted the word cupcakes.

Here's Rihanna.  Cheers to the Fricken' Cupcake 

Cheers to the fricken' cupcake
I eat to that, yeah-e-yeah
Oh, let the frosting sink in
I eat to that, yeah-e-yeah
Don't let the haters get you down
Turn it around and don't gain a pound

There's a cupcake o'er here yo
Everybody pull 'ya paper off
And I eat to that
Yeah-e-yeah, yeah-e-yeah, yeah-e-yeahYeah-e-yeah, yeah-e-yeah, yeah-e-yeah(And I eat to that)Yeah-e-yeah, yeah-e-yeah, yeah-e-yeahYeah-e-yeah, yeah-e-yeah, yeah-e-yeah

P90X Graduate

We did it!  We finished 90 days of P90X!  In spite of turkey temptations at Thanksgiving and tantalizing tiramisu at Christmas (not very traditional, but we love it) and bountiful bubbles at New Years we stuck to it and finished the entire 90 days of extreme workouts. 

Wow!  Looking back I remember the first week and not being able to do even one wide arm pull up.  I can still only do 3 or 4, but each one is a self gratifying moment of glory.  There is an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment going through this program. 

Here's what I found to be ultra rewarding:

P90X 60 Day Results

60 days down; only 30 to go.

I've talked to a lot of people who have tried P90X, but didn't make it the entire 90 days.  I don't want to bust on my friends, but

Today - YogaX

Today's workout is yoga.  A lot of people avoid programs with yoga in them thinking that it is just a bunch of stretching and it isn't in alignment with their goals of slimming down or bulking up.  They envision something like this

or this

Best Workouts of 2012

Are you looking for an exercise plan for the New Year?  Here is a list of my favorite workouts from 2012.

The Best Cardio Workout