Let me start off by saying that I subscribe to three fitness magazines. As the serials processor at my library branch, I easily have free access to all of them, but I happily pay to subscribe, because I am obsessed with fitness information. I’m not a model of health, but I do know a lot about nutrition. Anyway, every spring Self magazine offers up the Self Challenge, a three-month exercise and healthy-eating program that virtually guarantees you’ll lose weight if you follow the plans. It offers cardio and strength programs, meal plans, calorie counters, a food and exercise journal, forums and more. It really is pretty cool. Every year, thousands of women sign up, and I tried it for the first time last year. I didn’t actually lose any weight, but that was because I didn’t keep the food diary (I HATE to count calories. Hate it!) or do enough strength training. This year’s challenge started on the 26th, and I’m trying to do better. This week I’ve kept a pretty strict food journal (I may have left off an oreo or two, but I’m not fooling myself) and I’ve done one cardio workout and one strength workout. I’m going to try to hit the gym today, and I also try to just be active in general. I have a pretty active job, despite what you might think; yesterday my co-worker and I shelved five shared carts, and went for a walk in the park on our break. I think I might also try to clean off the back porch or the garage, so that will be a little extra workout. At any rate, I’m in this for the next 12 weeks, so we’ll see how it goes! It helps that the weather is finally warming up–it’s supposed to be 71 degrees today. Yay!

So, here’s the list of diet modifications I’ve put in place:

1. Check portion sizes and then eat them. Don’t overeat.
2. Switch from 2% milk to 1%.
3. Replace my cinnamon applesauce with a natural, no-sugar-added kind.
4. Avoid trans-fats and high fructose corn syrup whenever possible.

On a side note, I don’t know why, but I’ve chosen the above fitness model as my source of inspiration. She has a totally different body type, and I know I’ll never really look like that, but I’m just drawn to her long, shiny hair and cute board shorts. And the pineapple.