Up and Running...

I'm smart enough to know that this new lifestyle of mine isn't going to work without a real commitment to exercise. I'm not an exercise girl...never have been. As a kid I much preferred to fret away my time with movie-watching, listening to music and trolling the mall rather than engaging in sports. Oh yes, I was on a basketball team once. But it was my church team and they pretty much had to take me. I even got to play once-in-a-while, if we were leading by like 20 or more points. Truth is I was terrible...but I digress. I like's Oprah's approach to exercise - she freely admits that she hates it, but it's a necessary evil. I can deal with that. I can exercise knowing that it's helping me lose weight, helping me lower my cholesterol, and helping me live a longer, more vital life. Just don't ask me to like it folks, that's all I'm saying. So my goal from this point forward is to commit to doing some sort of physical activity a minimum of 5 days per week. I don't think that's asking too much of myself, although I have a feeling my muscles are going to protest vehemently. But they'll get with the program soon enough. That being said, I'll start tonight by taking Baxter (my dog), and my daughter, on a walk. They'll both appreciate it and when I look at the scale at the end of the week I think I will too. I keep thinking about all those Biggest Loser contestants, who exercise for something like 4-6 hours a day. Can you imagine? That's how they lose so much each week though. For now, I'm happy just to move each day. But I know I'm going to have to keep increasing the intensity as I go along.