Rule number 76: No excuses. Play like a champ

what does this picture have to do with anything? Refer to the title of today's post...hahahahahaha!!!!

I know I know it's pretty late! But I ended up hosting an impromtu Super Bowl party. My dear friend Kat text me and asked what my plans for the Super Bowl were today and I told her that I didn't have any and asked her what hers were. She does not have cable, but said that her boyfriend thought that they could probably stream it. I told her that was silly and that they were more than welcome to come over to my house and watch the game. So maybe I shouldn't call it a party, but instead maybe a small gathering of friends, as it was just Kat, her boyfriend Jason, my friend Chrystle and myself.

Anyway, I can't begin to tell you how much I did not care about who won this game, but as I said before the thing that kept me going was the comercials. The halftime show this year was quite a dissapointment though. So it was the comercials that I loved. My favorite I must say was the couple on a date and she is thinking in her head about how she wonders if he likes her, wants kids, wants to get married, basically planning their potential future. The guy on the other hand is thinking "I want to sleep with her, I want to sleep with her..." then the waiter comes down and sits down a Pepsi or Coke Zero, I don't even know what soda and then he starts thinking that he wants that drink. The woman says in her mind, don't you even think about it and then the guy with a sad and stunned look on his face reply's in thought, "no to which one". I laughed and laughed and laughed. What was your favorite commercial?

Well enough about the commercials and entertainment aspects of today, let's get down to something a little bit more serious. At the beginning of this blog project I told myself that I would blog about this particular journey for 100 days and it looks like we are just about there. February 8 to be exact will be the last of my daily blogs. Now that is not to say that I will not continue to blog, but it will probably be less frequent. As most of you know I am currently in my last semester of my masters program and I am having to put together my resume', try to find a job, take class, work and get my project together so that I am able to defend and hopefully pass that defense. This will be my life's biggest project at this current chapter in my life. It's crazy to think that in like three in a half months I will be done with this part of my life. Any of you feel that way.

Basically I am opening the floor to all of you. If there is something you want me to look into in particular or disucss in the next couple of days. Let me know and I will do so. What do you want to know? I'll tell you anything, or at least try to find the correct answers. My life is pretty much an open book at this time so I'd be more than happy to share it with you.

In reality 100 days is not that long of a time to make a full body transformation, but I was intrigued when I came across an article on CNN about people not seeing results. I decided to read "Why you're not seeing results" written by Madison Park, and this is what I found from the article. After talking to fitness experts these are the top four reasons the results aren't being seen and suggestions for the fix.

1) You're not changing what you eat.

"A lot of people hit the gym, but don't watch what they eat, said Jordan Yuam, who trains "Twilight" actor Taylor Lautner. They get impatient because they don't see dramatic changes in the first few weeks of working out."

"'When starting out an exercise program, if you want to see a successful outcome, you work on food first,' Yuam said."

"This means fewer calories, or at least better-quality nutrition. Eat foods like an apple or cottage cheese that take more energy for your body to digest, he suggested. There are too many junk foods packaged and marketed as health foods, Yuam said, so he recommends cutting back on processed foods."

"Fad diets don't work, especially the ones that require cutting out an entire food group like carbs or fats, Yuam said. Those don't work in the long run, because they're unsustainable."

"'You want long term,' he said, stressing a well-balanced diet."

"It doesn't have to be deprivation. If you really need that pizza slice or Chinese food, pick one meal in a week where you can have that guilty pleasure, and put it down on your calendar."

2) You're not having fun during your workout.

"'It has to be fun,' said Tracie Rogers, a spokeswoman for the American Council on Exercise. "If you're absolutely miserable and you dread going, you can find another option. There are too many options where you can find one to be fun and happy with."

"Rogers suggests asking friends and trying fitness options like Zumba, spin, kickboxing and sports leagues until you find what you like."

"'A lot of people think their only option is going to a giant gym,' Rogers said. "Some people are extremely overwhelmed and intimidated, so they never go. That's not the only option. There are boutiques doing all sorts of things. Shop around and see what feels right."

"Watching the clock during a fitness routine is a bad sign. It means your motivation isn't there."

"'It's about doing something for yourself,' said Rogers, a sports and exercise psychologist in Phoenix, Arizona. "A lot of us are busy with family, work and so many commitments. The workout time can be viewed as the one hour of the day you dedicate to yourself."

"Make exercise a social outing by participating in fitness classes and meeting with friends and trainers."

"If you take manageable steps and put the right people around you, you set yourself to be successful," Littrel said. "You have a better chance rather than going about it alone without guidance and support. There's much psychological support."

3) You're only doing cardio.

"Yuam said he hears complaints from people who say they don't see any changes after spending hours on the treadmill or elliptical machine."

"'For people who are sitting on exercise machines, they're not getting their heart rate up. They just are doing the motions. They're going to fail or leave the gym because why do something when you don't see results? They're not motivated anymore,' said Yuam, a fitness trainer and owner of Jordan's Virtual Fit Club in Valencia, California."

"'In the years of doing this, the most common error is, 'I have to do cardio. I have to do an hour of cardio,' " he said."

"Women tend to focus on cardio and neglect strength training, Yuam said."

"He suggests resistance training at least three times a week to his clients."

"The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommended muscle-strengthening physical activity on at least three days of the week for kids and two or more for adults."

"Strength training helps decrease body fat, increase lean muscle mass and more efficiently burn calories."

4) Your goal is unrealistic.

"Changing your fitness doesn't mean you have to vigorously work out seven days a week."

"'People don't have to conquer crazy goals all at one time,' Littrel said."

"Trying to go from a couch potato to an exercise warrior on a Spartan diet is unsustainable for most people. Once life gets busy or stressful, people drop all of these efforts and go back to unhealthy habits.Take the first step of working out even two days a week, and scale upward from there, Littrel said. Doing some physical exercise is better than nothing, with so many people battling obesity, he said."

"Set realistic goals and monitor your progress."

"Take a picture of yourself the first week, and then take another in the following weeks to track how you're doing, Yuam said."

This is the best advice I have been able to find for those known as "newbies". But also just remind yourself that this is something that you want and most importantly have faith in yourself. I'm off to bed, but I'll try to give you something good tomorrow. That is I am open to suggestion. Have a great night!!!