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"It was one of those &amp;quot;I-want-something-greasy-and-salty-and-I-want it-now!&amp;quot; kind of days. I was up to my ear lobes in writing deadlines. My son, Matthew, needed to use my computer for his fifth-grade report on Rhode Island. The hot-water heater was on the fritz. And we had to hustle out the door to swim team practice. Can you blame me for dropping Matt at the pool and then slinking off quietly for a little rendezvous\u2026 with an order of fried zucchini, sprinkled with Parmesan and dipped in Ranch dressing. Nibbling those yummy little zucchini sticks while sitting in the car, reading a magazine and having a little &amp;quot;me time&amp;quot;\u2014what could be so bad? (How often did I treat myself? We won&amp;#039;t go there.) Then I got on the scale. Seems like my little treats\u2014the fried zucchini, a handful of chocolate chips when I&amp;#039;m on a writing deadline, potato chips at Matt&amp;#039;s Little League games\u2014have added up over the years. It was time for a change. My husband, Randy, in 13 years of marriage, has never known my weight. But now that I&amp;#039;ve gone public and decided to share my weight-loss journey on this blog, what the heck\u2014the time has come! OK, Randy, here they are\u2014my &amp;quot;before&amp;quot; stats: Age: 49 Height: 5&amp;#039;2&amp;quot; Weight: 142 pounds Size: 12  One hundred and forty-two pounds. Not bad it you&amp;#039;re as tall as Heidi Klum (and yeah, like she even weighs that much). But when you&amp;#039;re 5&amp;#039;2&amp;quot;, there are only so many places for those zucchini sticks to go. It&amp;#039;s time to make a commitment to some healthy changes. I&amp;#039;m not going to get any younger \u2014 and certainly not any taller. But there are things I can change. So here are my weight-loss goals:  Weight: 125 Size: 8 Every Wednesday, I&amp;#039;ll weigh in and report my progress. Lucky for me, I&amp;#039;m going to have some help. I&amp;#039;m a big fan of the Food Network show, &amp;quot;Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger.&amp;quot; Ellie is a registered dietitian, and her book Small Changes, Big Results (Three Rivers Press; $13.95) features a 12-week action plan for &amp;quot;eating well, staying fit and feeling great.&amp;quot; This first week, I&amp;#039;m going to learn how to shop for a healthy pantry, pump up my exercise routine with walking and practice a 5-minute breathing exercise daily.  We can all handle small changes, right? Breathing exercises instead of fried zucchini when I&amp;#039;m stressed? Check. A brisk walk instead of potato chips? Can do. Carrot sticks instead of chocolate chips? OK, let&amp;#039;s get real: It depends on the time of the month.  Yep, I&amp;#039;ll have ups and downs. So will you. But let&amp;#039;s meet here every day and do this together as we swig our water, swing our arms and switch gears into a healthier, more active life. I can&amp;#039;t wait to read your comments and suggestions. See you tomorrow!  \u2014 Kathy Sena "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/a41547/welcome-to-scaling-down-fessing-up-kathy-sena-6907/>