Perhaps my motivation comes with gift from my boyfriend - a trip to Cabo San Lucas in May. That's three and a half months to keep my stomach flat and those legs firm. I definitely think I can look better in those bathing suits that are pushed to the back of my drawer. But more than the bribery of the sun, I do like the results I've seen physically so far. My pants do not fit as snug and fitted shirts lay nicer on me. Of course there are fashion tweaks I can consider to make myself appear taller (two more inches to 5'7 please) and look more sleek, but I'm in it for the long run, for the real thing.

I've learned that my own pace is okay. I don't need to be obsessed with the gym. My eating habits are just that, habits. The snacking has been cut back and replaced with peanuts and fruit instead of chips and candy bars. Those little things do add up to results.

The most important aspect of this whole experience is the realization of being comfortable with myself. There's always going to be something we want different about our bodies, but we just can't have it all now can we? And if you're that unhappy with yourself, then do something about it. I moaned about my college weight for months, and all people could say was, "Well, do something about it." And I did. So with my beer gut gone and bathing suit season just around the corner, my new goal is to just simply keep up with what I've been doing - with a little more focus on toning up more. What's yours?

We want, what we want, quick. Especially when it comes to losing weight or getting into shape. I know I have good intentions of shaping up, but do minimal work most of the time. But it should feel effortless - that is after you've gotten yourself into a routine. The February issue of Glamour magazine has "50 tips from top trainers," that can help anyone get in the right mindset with their simple suggestions. Again, as I mentioned in previous entries, it's all things we've heard before. But maybe if we read it enough, we'll finally get it embedded in our heads and we'll do all these healthy things like we're set on autopilot.

In the past month, I have done the classic exercises and passing on the empty calories. My "diet,' (if we want to label this) actually began in December. I cut back on meat, chose healthier snacks, ate more little meals than gorging on bigger ones along with my cardio trips to the gym (2 to 3 times a week) with exercises everyday. Physically I don't feel bloated, I can walk up steps without getting winded and there are fewer lines on my stomach when I slouch (which I like to call fatty lines. Come on, everyone gets a line or two on their stomach!)

I also don't like to weigh myself unless I'm at the doctor. It's a misleading number in your life. One year, I gained about 5 to 8 pounds, but it was all muscle from playing sports. Another time not too long ago, I gained about the same! My doctor told me to weigh myself a week later, and it was all water weight. And what I call the freshman 15, my mother calls me becoming a woman. I guess I did not know what hips were until I came home complaining to my mom that nothing fits. My body just changed. Now those results: I won't get them quick because my original image of an ideal body just won't do. I don't want to look like the slickly boy figure I had when I was 18-years-old.

But I would like a six-pack - abs, not beer...right now.

"The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan is one of those books that makes you think - reconsider what you feed your body. This is a 2006 New York Times Best Seller that was not brought to my attention by such prestige, but by the constant quoting from my boyfriend. My curiosity peaked, so I borrowed the book. There are statistics and research on the farms our foods come from that made me not eat meat for about two months. Let's just say organic does not necessarily mean it's been raised well.

It's a fairly long book. For all those with short attention spans, you are in luck! This past Sunday in the Times Magazine, he has an essay, "Unhappy Meals" that touches upon the basics of his book. But really, his essay talks about health and nutrition as common sense. He ends his essay, with a "few (flagrantly unscientific) rules of thumb," and goes on in his sarcastic manner to reiterate what you have read in every magazine, heard on every TV show from all the experts.

His essay comes at the end of the first month of 2007 when the motivation saunters off to old habits. I notice the gym is not as upbeat, the snacks are coming back out at work and even I have slipped a few treats in. Hunger with a whisper of indulgence tells me to eat a whole bag of cookies but common sense tells me to have two, maybe three...have a glass of water, and make sure I do my exercises. It's just common sense. Or maybe what we're lacking is just motivation.

...back, arms and shoulders.

In the past month, I have concentrated on my lower body. I've worked the stomach muscles and got my legs in better shape. I did not think much about my upper body until I saw a woman at the gym with toned arms. Toned arms are definitely sexy. I think it shows strength and athleticism - two things I've lost since my basketball and softball days.

I have two, five pound weights sitting around with no clue how to use them correctly. I do not want to strain myself or work the wrong muscles so they develop incorrectly. The best thing about these kind of exercises is that you can sit and watch TV while you're doing them. Selene Yeager's exercise was easy on the first try and something I can do along with my daily crunches and squats.

I also ran across this article on prevention.com about a woman who did back exercises that actually helped her firm her stomach. There are four steps to this workout, which uses an exercise ball. I found the third step difficult because it requires more balance but with practice, I'm sure I'll catch on.

I've always heard that being stressed makes your stomach bloated. This week has confirmed that idea for me. I've been eating well but drinking a lot of soda and lattes to get me through the nights at work. The prior week I probably had one soda and two cups of coffee. This week, I was having soda twice a day along with a latte and did I notice a difference! I was constantly thirsty and my stomach was bloated. I've been doing my exercises and eating well, but the caffeine intake really had an effect on me.

Lesson learned: cutting back on caffeine is something I need to do for my diet. As far as the stress, the gym or whatever you do to workout is such a stress reliever. The exercises I do everyday are low-impact, but the cardio at the gym released all the stressful things I encountered during the week. I just put all that annoyance into a workout, eventually spaced out on the machine, and just let everything go. I found being active in general is not only healthy for your body but your mind, too.

I tried Chris Freytag's idea of doing 10 minutes on various machines. I wasn't sure if I would feel like I had worked out by spending a few minutes on each. But it made my time at the gym feel shorter and it worked out different parts of my body, mostly sections of my legs (I use my at-home exercises for arms and tummy).

The treadmill was a good start to a workout. I walked on it for 10 minutes for a warm-up, gradually increasing the speed and incline, until I had to full out run (which we all know I hate doing), then I moved onto the bike. The bike burned my calves because I have not been on that machine for months! So 10 minutes was definitely enough. Then off to my favorite, the elliptical cross trainer, which I spent 15 minutes on.

This is definitely a good idea, especially for people who have a short attention span - that's me!

I often run into motivational moments at the most odd time. I'll clean at 2 in the morning and I'll cook after months of not making a trip to the grocery store. The cleaning kick has yet to come back but the cooking-bug has come! Blame it on late night Food Network shows or just being bored with what I eat. It's time to a food change that's light, filling and tastey.

I came across a press release at work that had recipes on it. The source happened to be Weight Watchers, which I never thought to go to for recipes. I thought it would be stingy or not enough taste. But you have to try this one!

Mesclun, Kiwifruit, and Goat Cheese Salad
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
6 cups fresh mesclun (young mixed salad greens)
2 medium kiwifruit, pared, halved, and thinly sliced
1 cup strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced
1/4 cup light raspberry vinaigrette dressing
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
2 tablespoons slivered almonds

Preparation
1. Place mesclun, kiwifruit, and strawberries in a large salad bowl.
2. Add dressing; toss well. Sprinkle with cheese and almonds; serve
immediately.

POINTS® value per serving: 3, 155 calories, 9.7g fat, 4g fiber

NOTE: POINTS® values for these recipes were calculated using the calories, fat, and fiber information for one serving. Results may differ from adding the POINTS values listed in the Eat Wisely booklet for each individual ingredient.

Weight Watchers and POINTS are the registered trademarks of Weight Watchers International, Inc.

©2006 Weight Watchers International, Inc. All rights reserved.

===

I've heard Weight Watchers prepared food is pretty good and that their recipes are easy to manage. Kris, commented on one of my last posts, with a recommendation to this website: http://www.healthybalance.com/ It has a lot of good recipes ranging from main dishes to drinks. You're also able to share some of your own recipes on this website, too.

Prevention.com is an awesome place for tips and ideas to become more active and healthy. People with various energy and motivational levels will find something on this sight to capture their attention. Chris Freytag, as mentioned by the other bloggers, shares her health plans and exercise tips on this sight. Freytag answered my exercise questions. However, Prevention.com touches upon eating habits, keeping your family healthy as well as beauty, which we forget is affected by our wellness.

• What are some exercises I can do to tone my arms?

CF: check out my 8 week program on www.prevention.com – each week I have been giving a few ideas for upper body exercises with hand weights. Focus on doing push ups, shoulder raises, mid back rows, Tricep extensions and bicep curls!

• If there is one exercise that will help all aspects of my body, is it running?

CF: Well – running is great cardio and uses the legs – but doesn't' do much for the arms and abs. Walking is great too as long as you keep up the pace – work hard, add terrain, etc. Supplement with some Pilates and weights and you've got a total body workout!

• What I can I do to maximize my trip to the gym?

CF: I always tell people – there are so many choices – do what you like to do – if you don't' like running, walk on an incline; do an elliptical, try a stair stepper, etc. Better yet – change it up – do 10 min on the elliptical, 10 min on the treadmill and 10 min on the bike. Cross training!

Definitely check out the 8 week program. And I'm trying a little bit of each of my top choice machines tomorrow morning at the gym! If we did not ask anything that answered your questions, you can ask Freytag at the prevention.com forum.

I was up in Boston this weekend to see my college friends and my boyfriend - some whom I have not seen in months. Most of the people I saw noticed I lost my beer/late night snacking pouch-of-a-belly, which is the part of my body I noticed got a little out of control. Of course, I noticed that my clothing fits nicer and my stomach is actually flat. And if you look close enough, you can even see abs re-forming! But for others to notice a difference, even though it is slight, boosted my confidence and encouraged me to keep up a more active and healthier lifestyle.

A helpful tip I utilized this weekend came from a comment on one of my posts from YogaBaby. When she craved soda, she actually poured down half of the drink so she would not drink it. But I didn't have to pour half out because I found since I cut back on the caffeine, when I had a Coke this weekend, the sugar was too much to handle and I only felt like drinking half anyway.

It's also helpful when the people around you eating healthy, too. It's very hard to eat something like grilled chicken when you're friend is eating a burger and fries! One of my favorite places to eat in Boston is b.good. That is where me and my boyfriend had a midday snack, mango and raspberry smoothies with a broccoli, red peppers, and carrots cooked in sesame soy oil and garlic.

The point of my weekend is that once you're in the swing of things, it's easy to keep it up. Getting started was difficult but I think this is something that I can keep up for months to come.

Well, more fun than running on the treadmill. Since it's freezing outside, I have found the next best thing to running at the gym. I have found a machine that I enjoy using - the Precor EFX elliptical cross trainer. It's not like a regular elliptical that has you swinging your legs a short distance. It works out your entire lower body, the butt, thighs and calves by allowing you to adjust the incline. The higher the incline, the more you're able to bend your knees as you glide. It's like using an elliptical and stair climber at the same time. It also glides better than a regular elliptical.

I find myself going right to this machine and if all of them are taken, I work on something else until one is free. I find it has been most effective to me, in combination with those leg exercises I do everyday. My legs feel soar today - I think that means it's all working!

What a change of feeling to actually have a machine I prefer to exercise on instead of dreading them all together.

After my Munchy Monday, I've stuck to my no caffeine fix. I haven't just drank water because I must have my orange juice in the morning. In place of soda and coffee, I've had water. Good ol' fashion and free water. Plus the exercise of water to the water cooler! Just kidding, I've been doing my ab and leg exercises twice a day. In the morning and when I come home from work in the evening.

But my new perspective of my healthier lifestyle is to take it from a financial perspective. Money talks. Money will make you think twice about picking up that candy bar! Most of us think, "Oh it's just a dollar." Each dollar adds up, even the change. I have a jar of change, singles and a few five dollar bills. So I thought I would apply this method to my diet. In the past two days, every time I thought about getting something at Starbucks or the vending machine, I jotted down how much it would cost. And I took it a step further - I actually took the money out of my wallet and put it aside. In the past two days, I've put aside $11 (rounded up). Now that's $165 a month! And I probably saved myself from consuming over 2,000 empty calories.

This encourages me to put the snack money aside. When I did actually have a snack, which I'm sure the first thing I'll give into is a can of soda, I will enjoy it. I feel like I was snacking just to snack. I didn't enjoy my treats because I had them so frequently.

I wish this method would work every time I wanted a bag. I would save so much money.

I got a great night's sleep and woke up before the construction on my building began. So I woke up relaxed and refreshed. I haven't slept so well in awhile and I noticed how much better my morning exercises felt.

I began my morning with a glass of water and a vitamin then I began my ab exercises. I actually found a variation of what I do on AOL, here. I use a balance ball for the standard and reverse crunch but when I don't have it with me, it's just as effective. I did 25 of each set. Also, I found the thigh exercises on the site, too! I did 25 of the flowing plie and the side-lying leg rotations. I'm not a fan on the forward lunges for some reason, but I managed to do 15, in three sets of five.

The great thing about these exercises is that you can do them everyday in the comfort of your own room and they're not complicated. I do them in the morning but if I don't, I know I can do them any time of the day.

Next up for me is a bowl of Cheerios and a glass of OJ (no pulp). And I've decided to set myself weekly goals because my diet and fitness is all mental for me. Last week was pushing myself to go to the gym more often. This week will be water in place of caffeine. Both of those things are hard for me, I couldn't imagine doing both in one week! So I've split them in order to focus on one lifestyle per week, and hopefully both will come together naturally.

Anyone who knows me well can tell you when I'm upset. I don't eat. I have no appetite. It takes some coxing. It takes comfort food. As the day progresses, you can tell if I'm feeling better; by the consumption of food. I didn't eat until late this afternoon. My mom was off, so she got me my usual order from my favorite bagel place: everything bagel with hummus (I love carbs). Then I needed a caffeine pick me up, so I got a soy caramel machiatto - a grande (310 calories according to the Starbucks nutrition web page). Then I proceeded to have a bag of sour cream and onion Ruffles chips (I just tossed the bag and didn't look at the ingredients. Eh, I didn't care). When I really started to feel better, I got a veggie burrito from Chipotles. Guacamole, mild salsa, onions, peppers, black beans and rice - the comfort food I crave!

So yes, today I consumed nothing of nutritional value. But at least I feel better!

It's another foggy, dreary and pretty much depressing day here in NYC. I slept in of course, my usual Sunday routine. I bummed around and tried to be productive. But I usually always end up watching TV. Sunday is my day to be lazy. But I was getting bored around 3:30 this afternoon. So I did my daily stomach routine and thought, "what the hell, I'll go to the gym, too." While I was there for almost a half hour, I noticed the gym was pretty empty. Maybe everyone's Sunday is a lazy day, too. Then I looked across the street and the bars were packed. Then I remembered the Patriots game was on. So I booked it on the elliptical for another ten minutes and came home to sit in front of the TV to watch the game.

My priorities are a little off on Sundays.

Thirteen days into the New Year and I've been making a conscious effort to cut back on my junk food intake and working out everyday (whether its the gym or balance ball exercises). I usually struggle in the beginning of the year due to all the so-good-but-bad-for- you foods from the holidays. However, in the past two days, I craved healthy foods, just not opting for them.

Friday's are usually slow at work and especially drawn out because I work at night. That means trips to the vending machine for chips, candy and soda to keep me going. When I got hungry for a snack, I actually craved oatmeal. (I keep packets in my desk drawer). For dinner, I went to a cafe up the street and made my own salad. Spinach with tomatoes, tofu, chickpeas and a hard boiled egg along with sesame ginger dressing...and I had a diet Dr. Pepper (hey, you can't be perfect all day!)

It was gloomy today, so I kind of bummed around. The weather was a cold, rainy drizzle that made me crave soup. So I had a broth with udon noodles, carrots, seaweed and mushrooms. (As I re-read that, it does make me sound like a health nut but I usually opt for veggie dishes because I'm not much of a meat-eater.) Also, I wanted to go to the gym today. I didn't force myself to go, I wanted to go! I didn't think, "Come on, you're paying for it, just go." I was motivated to go. Happy to go. Had a good work-out!

I'm proud of myself today :)