vices

Whether you're Christian or not, Lent is still a good time to give up unhealthy habits or change your fitness routine and/or diet. The 40-day period is enough time to make changes that will stick or at least provide you with a definite lesson in self-discipline. If you're still searching for something to give up this year, try one of our suggestions. Each is guaranteed to make you feel healthier while also adding a little extra pep in your step!

• Sugar — It's hard to resist sugar — believe me, it's in everything! —  but it's a bad habit that needs breaking. Too much of the sweet stuff increases the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke. It also has the potential to add a tremendous amount of calories to our diets, and our bodies can form a dependency on it. This Lent, follow our tips on cutting out added sugar from your diet — this also includes the artificial stuff. If going cold turkey is out-of-the-question, use natural sweeteners (sparingly) like honey or maple syrup and follow trainer Jackie Warner's advice by only eating foods that contain less than five grams of sugar per serving. Fruit is also an excellent way to fulfill the need for a sweet treat.
• Go vegetarian —  Traditionally, meat is given up during Lent, and whether you're religious or not, going vegetarian for 40 days and 40 nights has its benefits. Beef recalls, environmental woes, and ethical concerns are all good reasons to give up meat. Besides that, there are also major health benefits to going veggie. You might also find that going vegetarian will encourage you to cook more and try a wide of variety of veggies and legumes.
• Ditch the caffeine — That morning boost you thought you got from your usual latte is probably more hoax than help. And even though giving up caffeine will be hard, once you get past the withdrawals, you'll find that you have more energy than you ever did before. The simple reason? Your body will no longer be addicted! Here's our painless plan for weaning yourself off the bean. And no cheating with decaf — it has enough caffeine in it to count!

Rules are meant to be broken, but what's the punishment if it's mama that breaks them? Every home has its own set of rules and appropriate disciplinary action if they are broken, but parents are often the ones who misbehave. A neighbor of mine routinely finds herself buying her tots new Wii games after filling their family swear jar with her own money, rather than her kids', and another acquaintance recently lamented that her kids lashed out at her after she yelled at them because of their no-screaming rule at home.

As parents, we often give up our vices to help teach our children to be better people, but which family rules do you find yourself defying on a regular basis?

Actress Eva Longoria told People that when it comes to food vices, dessert is no stand-in for Mexican.

"Anytime there is Mexican food around, you can bet I'll be eating it. I'm not a chocolate person and I'm not into sweets. I'm a meal [person]."

Longoria loves the cuisine so much that she took it to the next level and opened Beso, a Latin steakhouse, in LA a couple of years back, and she's opening a second location of the restaurant in Las Vegas this weekend.

When it comes to food vices, I'm with Longoria in craving savory meals over dessert — my biggest vice being a juicy burger! Even though I give into cravings sometimes, I make a lighter version whenever I can.

Tell me . . . what's your absolute food vice?