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Just in time to help you stick to those goals you’ve been considering all week, three names are coming together to offer a New Year’s Weight-Loss Resolution Kit, full of all the food, fitness and even some freebies you need to stat 2012 on the right foot.

Announced today, Fresh Diet, a leading meal delivery diet program, and HINT Water, a flavorful unsweetened and no calorie beverage, are joining forces with beloved fitness expert Jessica Smith, creator of the 10 Pounds Down DVD workouts. Together you’ve got a package of quality products that can lay the foundation for the success you’ll enjoy all year long.

When you order The Fresh Diet’s 31-Day Premium Plan, you’ll receive more from HINT Water and Jessica Smith to round out the kit. In addition to the standard meal plan, Fresh Diet will throw in an additional three complimentary meal deliveries, a six day supply of HINT Water, a DVD from the 10 Pounds Down. It’s just one order that will deliver all you need to get started. With the premium plan, you receive 3 meals and two snacks for each of 31 days. You get to select what you want to receive, and get to call out dislikes that can be taken off of your menu. “With our state of the art website you can choose all of your meals a month in advance by simply logging into your The Fresh Diet Account,” says the product description.
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The beginning of January is often considered the season of weight loss due to the many individuals who choose to embark on this type of mission as soon as the new year begins. In fact, fighting the battle of the bulge is one of the most common new year’s resolutions set year after year. And although it sounds like a good idea at the time, very few people actually follow through with this sort of resolution. In fact, a third of individuals will give up on their lofty weight loss dreams by the end of the first month.

This year, instead of focusing on becoming thin, why not focus on improving your health and shrinking your waist instead. Although it may seem weird to focus on the size of your waist this year, it’s often considered a better indicator of health and it’s quite common for individuals to achieve an appropriate waist size before they notice numbers changing on the scale.

The fat that collects around your middle can often lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes if too much is present. Although you can’t specifically target this area of your body and only lose weight here, individuals often see their abdominal fat stores shrink by 10-30% when they lose as little as 5-10% of their overall body weight. This means that your waist measurements may fall into a healthy range even before you hit your desired weight.
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It’s probably the most often made New Year’s Resolution: lose weight and get into shape. The gyms are packed, the sports stores sell out of equipment, and the streets are cluttered with new joggers. People make this promise year after year, and typically, by the end of January, most of them have given up.

However, some don’t. Sometimes, that New Year’s resolution becomes attainable and do-able. Sometimes, people really do succeed when they vow, on January 1, to lose weight and get into shape. I did it, and I asked several other successful dieters to share their successes with us.

Kelly Guy, of the blog, No Thanks to Cake, says, “If I were to look back at my New Year’s resolutions for the past 10 years, weight loss was always on the list. Sometimes I actually resolved to lose the extra weight, and even when I didn’t it was in the front of my mind.” She’s lost 74 pounds so far and is close to reaching her goal, although she shares, “I didn’t hit my goal in 2011. I still have 17 lbs remaining before I hit my weight loss goal; however, I don’t believe weight loss will be on my to-do list this year. Healthy living has become a way of life; it’s no longer something that I’m desperately trying to achieve and that I will maintain. ”

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If you’re party plans were up in the air until only moments ago, or you’ve only just caught the bug to cook, there’s still plenty of time to prep some finger-food snacks that everyone will enjoy. If you’ve resolved to lose a little weight at the strike of 12, then these healthy recipes are sure to kick-start your efforts. Most of these use ingredients you probably have on hand, minimizing your need for a trip to the grocery store.

What’s a party without Buffalo chicken? These Boneless Buffalo Chicken Strips, by Chef Devin Alexander, give all of the flavor you expect and less of the fat and calories you won’t miss. The 293 calories per serving even includes a classic blue cheese dip.

• 1 1/2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 16 chicken tenderloins (about 1 pound), trimmed of tendons
• Olive oil spray
• 2 tablespoons light butter (stick, not tub)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons hot sauce (a thick one like Frank’s), plus more to taste

Click for the full recipe.
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