It's been 25 days since the first of the year when we all vowed to eat right, exercise more, and make 2012 our year to rock a bikini ... or at least appear publicly in a swimsuit of some sort. How are you doing on your resolutions?

Judging from attendance at my gym, I'd say many of us are still going strong. But I know that as the chocolates of Valentine's Day start springing up, and the weeks pass by, we often leave our good intentions in the dust ... covered by a heap of chocolate wrappers. So how to prevent what feels like the inevitable from happening?

Kevin Federline, my heart hurts for you. It feels like just yesterday you and Britney Spears were madly in love, you were in fantastic shape dancing your little booty off as her backup dancer, and everyone knew your name. Now, Brit's engaged to a new man, Jason Trawick, and you're a D-List celeb, competing on your second weight loss reality show (in Australia no less) Excess Baggage.

What's worse? Looks like Kevvy's not having it easy Down Under. K. Fed was taken to a hospital in Australia yesterday after complaining of chest pains while competing on the reality show.

I have a hunch that Kev may have felt like a little bit of a wimp, considering this is his second time requiring medical attention during the taping of this one show. But if you ask me, he's a smart man for speaking up.

In fact, he's a great example that if something out of the ordinary is bothering you, you need to pay attention to it.

It wasn't exactly the world's biggest shocker when the news came out Tuesday that butter fan and Food Network star Paula Deen has type 2 diabetes. Diagnosed three years ago, the 65-year-old celebrichef isn't planning on giving up the occasional dessert just because of her disease. However, she has eliminated one of the biggest indulgences from her diet: Sweet tea.

"I would start drinking my sweet tea at lunch, and I would drink it up 'til I went to bed," Deen told People. "It was staggering how much sugar I consumed in empty calories just from drinking my tea."

While I know that genetics, age, and race are all contributing factors to type 2 diabetes, there's no denying the obvious. If I had to guess, mindless eating (in other words, Deen's sweet tea habit) probably didn't help her avoid the disease.

The scary part? I have a hunch that many of us are guilty of mindless eating, too. I know I am.

This past weekend, the anticipation of Paula Deen's BIG announcement reached a fever pitch. And now what we suspected has been confirmed. The celeb chef came out today with the news: She was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes three years ago, and she says, ever since, she's been taking better care of herself. And now, she's partnering with Novo Nordisk, a pharmaceutical company that makes a diabetes drug, to encourage other patients to take better care of themselves and see "Diabetes in a New Light." That's also the name of their diabetes awareness campaign.

Seems admirable overall, but I can't help but think there's something glaringly missing from Paula's "coming out" party.

Running a marathon is no small task. For many, it's a life goal, something they have dreamed of doing since they were a kid or always wanted to do. For others, it's something they do with regularity. But no matter how many you've run, no marathon is ever easy. Sorry to disappoint, but 26.2 miles is difficult no matter how you slice it.

It's also hilarious to run that long. At a certain point, your mind stops being clear and your thoughts become downright insane. I have run two full marathons and about a dozen half marathons and it's always the same. I always wish I had a journal to capture the insanity. Luckily, Improve Asylum did that for us.

See below for the hilarious video that takes on a runner's thoughts during a marathon:

It's a common misconception that you need a gym's worth of equipment or a ton of space to get a good workout. I hate to break it to you, but that excuse simply isn't going to work anymore. There are some really simple exercises you can do that use nothing more than your own body weight, enough space to let you stretch out your body to its full length (that's barely more than a five-foot by five-foot square for me!), and a few minutes each day. These five exercises will get you way more fit than you think!

Most people greet the start of the New Year with a vow to get in shape ... Every. Year. And every year the gym is crowded with "resolutionaries" who show up, sweat all over everything for a few weeks, and then are never seen again.

The best way to avoid that is to figure out what usually stands in your way. What is the obstacle getting in the way of your success? And then -- here's the hard part -- figure out a plan to work around it. One (or more) of these tips ought to help you get started.

You haven't stopped reading, have you? You can do this! Here's to a healthier you in 2012.

What's your New Year's resolution? I just made a new one: In 2012, I'm going to take extra good care of my teeth. I know, it doesn't sound very sexy, as far as annual resolutions go. It's no optimistic lose 20 lbs., make more money and spend more time with my family. (All three of those are also on my list, by the way, though I suspect the last two might be mutually exclusive.) But, in terms of my health, it may be one of the most important things I do this year. In fact, you might want to consider making the same promise to yourself.

Why? Well, it turns out our teeth may tell us more about our overall health than we ever imagined -- and taking care of them could literally save our lives.