The most popular resolution for a new year is to lose weight. Having worked at a gym, I can tell you firsthand about the marketing ploys and monetary windfalls that come courtesy of a caloric binge starting from Hallow's Eve and lasting right through to the kiss following the ball drop.

Photo Credit: DeviantArt User Swisst

My struggle with weight has been pretty simple. I wasn't blessed with a metabolism with rocket speeds, nor have I nurtured my body with the best eating habits or stuck to plans long enough. Nature and nurture were both slowly standing by as the arrow on the scale crept higher and higher. Sure, I'd learned the correct habits, yes, my fitness DVD and VHS collection was competition only to the plethora of shoes (who also don't get enough action, funny enough).

Before I tell a short tale of what has changed for the better, I need to mention some things that will always sabotage your health and resolution.

Expect too much too soon. Let's be realistic y'all. If it took me three years to gain thirty unnecessary pounds to my frame, it's imaginative at best to think it can melt off in a month or two. I don't have the luxury of going on a The Biggest Loser experiment - my schedule doesn't allow for six hours of pumping iron and getting my cardio on, and neither should you. The regime gives great results but is very hard to maintain. Another no no in this category is wanting results to be instant. A single ab workout will never give you six pack abs if you didn't have them before the workout started. Thinking it will may deter you from your path.

Take on too much (too soon) It's easy to confuse the above with this one. You can expect to be 50 pounds lighter in two weeks, and you can also expect to run a marathon every day to achieve it. The strain is a lot to take both mentally and physically, not to mention carving out time and fighting off the urge to be a couch potato instead. The same applies to diets - try to cut out anything with sugar from your diet (fruits etc. included) and see how long you last.

Do it for the wrong reason(s) You heard Drake say it: don't do it for the man. Don't do it for anyone. Not even yourself (... kinda). Happiness will not come from 2 inches less around your waist. Self confidence doesn't arrive with a size 2 pair of jeans. It may come from being healthy and active, though. Staying active and responsible for your body should always be the ultimate goal (and will thus always reveal the best results).

Any of the above sound familiar? I have a couple hundred stories about each (none have a happy ending). My epiphany came on vacation in Mexico. I had already started doing little workouts last December after my largest size pants felt snug. Something about continually buying a larger size drives me mad. My trip to Mexico gave me an overhaul in three areas I had failed in miserably for the past three years: sleep, diet, activity. Losing three pounds on a ten day vacation while eating to my content gave me the biggest boost of confidence. I have added an additional 5 pounds to the 3 lost. Here's what worked for me:

As I continue my nonresolution of bettering my eating habits and fitness program, I find that I can find support and information everywhere. I find it on websites, blogs, Twitter, conversations with friends, magazines, television, etc. Even advertisements are offering advice.

How can you lack education in this field with so much available to you?

This morning, I was munching on some childhood fave Honey Nut Cheerios. Now let me tell y'all this, despite their claims for heart health, some of the Cheerios sport higher levels of sugar than a healthier version of granola or such may give you, BUT it's hella tasty and is a better alternative than sugar filled concoctions that have the colors of the rainbow and promises of fruit. Anyway, I'm notorious for reading packaging from expiration date to UPC code when at a loss of other reading materials, and this time I had some good material!

Check out some of the tips I got on the left and after the jump:

Happy weekend y'all! I am coming back with a vengeance this month trying to give you snippets from magazines that you haven't heard of, or at least those I have yet to mention. Trust me when I say there is a monthly stack of 15 or more magazines vying for MOJ readers attention!

This weekend starts off with 944, the Miami division. They cover a lot of popular US areas, but I must've developed a penchant for the sunny state as I always find the Miami read the best. This one had a great list of eating advice from Jodi Lipper and Cerina Vincent, authors of How to Eat Like a Hot Chick: Eat What You Love, Love How You Feel. The page in the magazine gave nine tips, but I compiled my top three. I especially love the last one.

The magazine always has great covers and amazing photo shoots. This issue has a "Night at the Museum" themed shoot with a model posing with animal figures and fab makeup (think leopard spots, stripes, etc.), and a va va voom shoot of lingerie in a supersexed up (but ultra classy) version of the Mad Men set in the shoot "Longing."