The new Deliciously Yours diet plan involves freshly prepared meals that are not powdered, dried or canned, have no added preservatives, yet can stay fresh in your refrigerator for up to 14 days. It's a well balanced meal suited for your weight loss needs, calories counted and all. The ediets Deliciously Yours Meal menu contains 50 meals you can choose from for your weekly 4 meal a day plan. And that 4th meal? Dessert! I love that you don't have to give up eating dessert because certainly if you deprived yourself of a sweet each day you may just find yourself gorging yourself when the temptation cracks.

Being part of the plan you are given free access to ediets.com where you can work with a nutritionist and personal trainer to develop a plan that will fit your lifestyle. The Deliciously Yours plan allows you to choose two ways in which you want to tackle the program to lose weight--either utilizing the freshly prepared food menu 7 days a week or by doing the "weekends free" plan. If you are just beginning your weight loss, you'll want to go with 7 days until you feel confident enough with portion control and getting into the habit of healthy eating. That way when you switch to the weekends free version, you'll be able to confidently cook weekend meals that won't sabotage your weight loss goal.

Have you seen or tried Deliciously Yours? I'd love to hear your opinion on it.

1. Technology Based Workouts. I've talked a lot about this over the past year. Some posts you may want to review: Garmin's Edge, Expresso Fitness's S2, Star Trac Elite and Video Game Fitness.

2. Express Workouts: Everyone is busy these days, which is why we have been seeing the programs that focus on 30 minute workouts become so successful.

3. Functional Fitness: Fitness programs tailor made to you through everyday activity.

4. Social Networking: Fitness enthusiasts find that there is strength and accountability in numbers. Posts I've written that discuss it are: Fitfiend.com

5. Fusion fitness: Blends of pilates, yoga and tai chi will all be popular. I also think the ever growing franchise of LA Boxing with its kickboxing and mixed martial arts programs will do very well this year.

There are plenty more forecasts for fitness trends floating around, but I would love to hear you give your forecast for fitness trends in the comments.

DO Start Off Moderately
Work your way into a routine. Going overboard after a long respite from exercise may result in injury, or at least disappointment. Your workout shouldn't do either, so build up from a moderate beginning.

DON'T Over-Exercise
For maximum benefit at minimum injury risk, the body needs to rest and recover. At least a 24-hour rest after heavy muscle strain is advised. Stagger workouts between heavy and light strain. For example, you can alternate a weight training routine with biking.

DO Warm Up and Cool Down
A low-impact warm-up before any exercise is essential. It warms the muscles, makes them more limber and easier to stretch, which results in a better workout. It also helps to prevent injury. Cooling down after exercising is also important as it relaxes the muscles, lowers the heart rate, and helps the body to recover from the stress of a workout. It'll make you feel better immediately after the workout, and the next morning.

DO Stretch
Flexibility is one of the most important factors of fitness. Stretching before, during and after a workout will result in better performance, good posture, fewer injuries, and overall better fitness.

DON'T Push an Injury
Listen to your body. If you feel pain, stop. Muscle and joint pain can mean many things -- pushing a small hurt can lead to big problems later on. If pain persists more than a few days, see a doctor.

DO Consult a Trainer
If you belong to a gym, you may have the opportunity to consult a certified trainer. He or she can help you craft a reasonable workout plan, tailored for your goals. A trainer can also teach proper form with exercise equipment. Even if you are experienced, bad habits can be developed.

DON'T Get Bored
Don't get bored with your workout. New exercises can break the monotony, and the excitement of perfecting new skills can help motivate. Since different exercises work different parts of the body, a diverse workout will aid overall fitness.

DO Find a Workout Partner
If motivation is your problem, a workout partner might be the solution. A partner can motivate you to workout when you normally might not, and can help improve your workout by watching form, encouraging extra effort, and pacing. Try to pick a partner with abilities equal to your own.

DON'T Lose Concentration
Preoccupation with outside situations can counteract the benefits of a workout. For example, you might decrease intensity as you lose concentration. And not paying attention to a workout can lead to sloppy style and potential injury. Instead, use the time to concentrate on proper form and control. It will lead to a better workout, greater benefits, and a more relaxing experience.

DO Watch What You Eat
Diet is just as much a part of fitness as exercise, and what you eat will affect every aspect of your workout. A proper diet also influences the results of you fitness plan, since it helps build muscle and decrease the percentage of fat in your overall body weight.

DON'T Dehydrate Yourself
When exercising, the body needs four to eight ounces of water every 20 minutes to replace water loss. If you become thirsty during a workout, you've already passed out of a "safe" stage of hydration. Take fluids immediately. If you are working out for more than an hour, you may want to consider sports drinks, as the extra carbohydrates help retain body water. But try them out first, as not all work, and some may cause unwanted reactions. Always avoid caffeine or alcohol when exercising, both of which further dehydrate your body.

DO Have Fun!
The benefits to working out don't pay off if you don't enjoy yourself. This isn't an excuse for not exercising, as it's still vital to your health. But finding a workout that you enjoy will make the difference when setting a workout schedule that will stick.

Some of the top reasons that diets, especially “trend” diets fail are:

* Diets deprive us creating a battle of “will power.” Many diets involve eliminating certain foods or even whole food groups. This is not only unhealthy but also unrealistic for the long term.
* Diets often don't fit into our day-to-day lives. Weighing, measuring food and counting points may help you lose weight, but aren't practical as long-term strategies for most people.
* Diets can be costly. Buying special foods or into special diet programs can rack up a big bill quickly. When the money runs out, it may lead you to quitting the program.
* Diets can actually lower your metabolism. When you drastically cut back on calories, your metabolism tends to slow down and goes into “starvation mode.” If your body feels it is at risk for starving, it will burn calories slower and store fat as a way to protect itself.
* Diet only plays a small part in weight loss. Long term weight loss and management is not just about what you eat, it requires incorporating exercise into your daily life, as well. Experts recommend 60-90 minutes a day most days of the week.

Many times we gain weight for one reason or another and feel that dieting is a quick fix. Many times we do lose the weight, but often gain back the pounds within the next few years because we did not utilize dieting as a lifestyle change or even look deeper into why we were overeating in the first place. If you eat when you are depressed, stressed or for comfort, those issues will still arise—dieting or not. It’s best to deal with those issues head on so that you use different healthy coping skills when the need to fill a void arises, otherwise you will continue to fall back on what is most comfortable and easy for you.

Creating a lifestyle modification that leads to permanent changes in eating habits and exercise are what will make your ability to lose weight and keep it off a success. Diets are simply a temporary fix to a long-term problem. Some of the ways you can be successful at losing weight are:

Much to my surprise, Pilates was not as easy as it seemed on the infomercial at 2am, in fact it was pretty challenging. However the thing I noticed most was that it worked my entire body and left me energized afterwards (and a little sore). After two weeks I noticed that each move was easier to do and soon enough I dropped 10 pounds and the tone to my muscles had a leaner appearance.

Some of the great benefits of Pilates are:

* Gives more support to your spine and creates more mobility.
* It puts no stress on your joints, doesn’t wear down the ligaments and cartilage around your    joints and never overstresses your muscles.
* You only need to do Pilates 3x a week consistently to see results.
* Promotes better balance and better coordination.
* Improves your mental outlook and creates a feeling of calmness, balance and rejuvenation.
* Builds strength without bulking up.

Pace is another facility that offers a 30-minute workout on hydraulic equipment otherwise known as circuit training. Pace was the original circuit training center, however, Curves for Women’s star has shown much brighter through all of their advertising campaigns and PR. These 30 minute circuit training fitness centers are becoming very attractive to those of all walks of life, from the business woman with a hectic schedule to the senior looking to keep in shape without a strenuous fitness regimen, Curves and Pace are becoming their fitness clubs of choice.

30-minute fitness centers offer many benefits both mentally and physically. Many women are intimidated by all of the different exercise equipment the typical gym has to offer. With circuit training, there are only approximately 10 pieces of equipment which offer strength training and sustained cardiovascular activity through safe and effective hydraulic resistance. There is no wondering which piece of equipment you need to use for what, you simply begin on one machine and make your way around the circle in 30 second timed intervals. The guesswork is taken out of the equation with a “follow the leader” type workout.

30-minute fitness centers make exercise convenient and easy to fit into a busy schedule. With Curves, there are 10,000 fitness centers worldwide, adding to the convenience of the business traveler looking to stay fit even when on a business trip. While you won’t get that muscle definition or body builder look that you would at gyms like Bally’s and Gold’s, a 30 minute fitness center is ideal for those who are already in shape looking to maintain it and for those looking to lose weight and inches and build stamina in order to divulge in a more rigorous workout at the gym.

The study was geared at those 50 years and older since Shingles is usually most common in this age demographic (although my husband is an exception since he began developing it at age 35). Tai chi is a low impact exercise that anyone can participate in at any age. To do tai chi, you perform a defined series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful manner. Each movement or posture flows into the next without pausing. Many see tai chi as a way to tackle many physical and mental conditions such as stress, reducing high blood pressure, increasing stamina, and muscle strengthening and definition.

This recent study was done by UCLA and involved 112 healthy adults, ages 59 to 86, who have had previous cases of chickenpox. The study was split into two groups with one group taking tai chi classes three times a week for three months and the second group attending health education classes where they were taught good diet habits and stress management. Both groups were vaccinated against chicken pox.

After 6 months, the tai chi group showed nearly twice the level of immunity than did the health education group and the study found that tai chi paired with vaccination showed a 40% increase in immunity against Shingles. It is definitely interesting to say the least and something that should promote further study regarding tai chi’s affects on physical and mental health.

Run Easy is about reminding us that running doesn’t have to be a competitive sport. There was a time when it was deemed exercise that was open to anyone; from running solo on the beach to an enjoyment of social time with a running buddy, running was easy at one point and not something that you had to be competitive at.

One of the Reebok Run Easy ad campaigns states: Run + Puke + Run = Crazy. A little over the top, a little gross when you think about it, but isn’t that the point? Running shouldn’t have to be exercise to push us to our limits, and honestly, it really doesn’t need to be involved in the “No pain no gain” theory of fitness. Running should be fitness that is open to people of all athletic abilities.

This polar opposite approach to the fitness gear industry involves many well known athletes such as Allen Iverson, Vince Young, Chad Johnson and Nicole Vaidisova, among many others.

The main question Reebok asks consumers is, “What are you just doing?” which is obviously a stab and/or take on Nike’s “Just Do It” motto. The campaign began this week with Reebok’s launch of the website GoRunEasy.com and will begin with digital advertising and print ads in select major cities, by the end of the month we will see the commercials beginning to air.

So will it work? Tell us what you think in the comments.