Everyone wants a quick fix. The diet miracle that will make them trim and beautiful – a magic exercise pill that will do all the work for them. Shoot I would love a quick fix that gave me superman strength and six-pack abs! I mean, who wouldn’t!

But unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. We have to struggle and battle. It costs us sweat and even tears to achieve the bodies we desire – which honestly is why most people fall short. It is easier to give up on finding a solution; it is easier to not stick with a plan than to battle day in and day out.

But is it really easier to give up? Are we really happen when we don’t achieve our goals? I’m not!

Always trying to find a better, EASIER way to achieve my goals has led me over the last few years to experiment with both my diet and exercise regime.

I’ve tried P90x. I’ve tried Insanity. I’ve done power lifting and bodybuilding workouts. I’ve tried those routines in women’s magazines.

I’ve tried low-fat diets. I’ve tried eating whatever I want (which was fun until my pants started to not fit because I’d gained 10lbs). I’ve tried portion control and eating everything in moderation.

I’ve experimented to find out what works best for ME. Because let’s face it…Everything I’ve listed above works for someone…yes even the eating whatever they want works for some lucky SOB.

Only by trying out lots of different things have I found one solution, one plan that I feel I can stick to for the rest of my life.

For me that one eating plan is my own take on Primal and enforcing the 80/20 rule. 80-90% of the time I maintain a Primal diet – a healthy diet. But then there is that 10-20% of the time when I just freaking want a huge slice of pizza – and I eat it! For me, giving in and cheating every once in a while is fun and worth it. I’ve found a good balance of eating healthy and cheating that allows me to easily maintain my diet. I’ve also found that for me Primal works. It is a LIFESTYLE I can maintain for the long run. It isn’t some crash diet.

The exercise plan that works best for me is VARIETY. You may think that isn’t a plan, but it is. I like to vary up what I do. I always do some form of heavy lifting each week (I have a hard time gaining muscle and keeping it on), but I also love to do crossfit style workouts, spinning and yoga (when I find the time to). Ok so maybe even more than variety I like a challenge and lifting heavy, heavy weights….like the guy on the Planet Fitness commercial that “Picks things up and puts them down!” haha

Anyway, to sum up my ramblings…The message of my blog is about more than lifting heavy weights…it is about experimenting to find what works for you. It is about not fearing something new and different. It is about taking risks. And for most women, the fitness “risk” they should be taking is trying out lifting. Most women fear it will make them huge so they never give lifting a chance. Just try lifting for 60 days. Let me know what you think then….