Get Fit, Niki

I have good genes. Or, at least I have slender genes. Never mind the cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, and bad eyesight in my gene pool. Those things are pretty crummy. But the slim perk is nice--I am and always have had a pretty average build that I've never really had to work at. Until now. My mom always warned me that when I turned 30 everything would start to go downhill. I'm discovering that she meant that in more ways than one.

Although I inherited a fast metabolism, I've always tried to be active and eat well. After all, my body is a temple, right? But these days, activity for me translates into chasing my boys (I clock hours every day quite literally doing exactly that), and eating well means two big slices of supreme pizza when what I really want is three. Eh, not bad. I figured I was doing pretty good for myself.

And then came Get Fit, Iowa. Does your state have a program like this? Basically, the idea is that for 90 days you focus on living healthy, eating well, and starting a good exercise routine--one that works for your lifestyle and schedule. You can form a team of up to ten people, and then spend three months encouraging each other on toward your personal goals and possibly earning cash prizes for most activity or most weight lost. Sounds pretty good. Until you step on that nasty little scale with the magic fat-o-meter. Last week I weighed in, and discovered that while my weight was exactly what I thought it would be, my body-fat percentage was a little higher than the 17% I sported in high school. Ugh. Apparently chasing my kids and eating almost anything I want isn't quite cutting it.

So, here I am, busy mother of two, writing books every spare second I can scrounge, and working on the Articles of Incorporation and IRS Section 501 (c) (3) papers for our growing nonprofit in the spare time of my spare time. When's a girl supposed to do the treadmill thing? Since I have absolutely no illusions about my workout routine being as blissful as this young woman obviously finds hers, I'm left to realistically consider my possibilities.

And those possiblities are... um... I don't know. Help! What do you do to stay in shape? My once a week yoga class is bliss, but it's not cutting it. I am in serious need of advice from all you buff babes out there. I know you're sitting on a goldmine of awesome ideas... Don't leave me hanging. And please don't make me beg. ;)