We all know that people tend to use time as a so-called "legitimate" reason to eat poorly. Those people never like me much. Why? Because the excuse is lame and doesn't hold water, and I'm fairly upfront about it. The truth: Bananas are quicker to peel than any package can be opened. Apples don't even need peeling!

Cooked food can also be insanely quick. In fact, I always keep giant bags of various frozen vegetables in my freezer so I can toss them in a bowl and heat them in the microwave in under five minutes. Is it gourmet? Not really. Do I care? Hell no!

What matters most is that we choose fruits, veggies, lean meats and whole grains. Those are a few of the things that are vital not only to weight maintenance, but they support a nourished, energetic and disease-free body. If you are hell-bent on eating poorly than just get on with it. But if you truly want to make fitness happen and change your life, you're going to have to kick excuses to the curb.

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I think sometimes, or most of the time maybe, we all get lost in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Choices and decisions get rushed and the lines between what we need, what we want, and what we're actually doing start to blur. The truth is that although it's great to have all kinds of different goals in life you have to be careful you're not trying to do too much at once. When is the last time you really thought about your priorities? Not everything can be at the top of the list. Where is your health on that list? Are you really giving your top priorities the most effort and focus? It seems many people say 'health and losing weight' is a top priority, but then they bog themselves down with so many other things they hardly have time to work on it. Whether you like it or not that means it's at the bottom of the list, not the top.

So take a few minutes to think about what's important to you and to make some decisions. Make the choice to choose, and you may be surprised at how much focus, determination, and newfound success you find you suddenly have.

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There's a lot of controversy lately surrounding the idea that obesity might be a social disease -- that is, spending time with obese people can lead to obesity. All that considered, the news that obese people tend to have obese mates should not come as a surprise. This all fits in with a theory of assortative mating, based on the belief that people don't just choose mates randomly -- whether they mean to or not, people tend to select mates based on physical attributes like height, weight, religion, age and so on.

What do you think -- is choosing a mate who is the same size a conscious decision, is it something we're programed to do, or is this whole theory a bunch of you-know-what?

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My husband just told me about his grandfather "Dukie" who was a smoker. Dukie started smoking in his teens and had done so consistently until he got sick with bronchitis at some point in his forties. Because of his temporary illness he couldn't smoke, but when he got well he progressed because of a sharp attitude. Apparently, Dukie had an epiphany that if he could go without smoking completely for that week or so ... he could continue to go without smoking forever. Why make the effort to reintroduce a bad habit? From that point on, he never smoked again.

Dukie hit the RESET button on his habits. What a great way to take lemons and make lemonade. I think we all end up with particular aversions when we come down with something. If you end up in the same boat as Dukie and have gone without your nightly ice cream addiction, smoking habits, or alcohol consumption, take that strange little gift and go with it.

Make a great choices. Choose to become who you want to be.

Do you buy a lot of the same foods week after week at the grocery store? Sure, we switch it up a little, but most of us have quite a few brands and foods that we're faithful to. Researchers are currently working on something I think would be really interesting: they're studying why we choose the foods we do when making selections at the grocery store.

Not only do we buy foods based on our income levels and what we know and/or believe about nutrition and health, but our ethnicity and gender also play a role. This is a pretty interesting article covering everything from how lower incomes mean higher sodium intake, to how men generally eat more fruits and vegetables than women.

Really? That last one surprises me.

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Choosing the right sneaker is one of the most important components of surviving a great workout without any injuries. Just as a mouthpiece is vital to a boxer, proper footwear is important to you. I've seen folks running in basketball shoes and doing dance aerobics in running shoes. Both cases are an injury waiting to happen.

Nowadays, we walk into a shoe store and see a zillion different shoe types: runners, cross trainers, cleats, high tops, low tops, all terrain, etc. Why so many? We didn't used to have so many options. Sneakers were sneakers and that was that. Well, research and technology is your answer. Now that we know better, we do better. Each shoe is now specifically designed to provide support in places where certain activities cause the most shock. I'm listing a few examples, and before you read the supporting text. Think about what each athlete's feet and ankles endure.

Runners. Every time a runner takes a step, three times his/her body weight is impacting down on each foot. That is why there are often gigantic air pockets on the bottom of each shoe. Running shoes are created so that both your heel and forefoot are extremely supported with padding. The bottom tread is rough to grab the road and help prevent slipping. This shoe is light so the weight of each shoe doesn't hinder the users performance. Runners are normally only moving forward, so lateral ankle support of a high top is unnecessary.