I'm ready to go to the next level—the über level—of well-being. I'm ready to live full blast (with sweet, planned recharging interludes of calm and shade under my oak trees).

I'm keenly aware that every day is a gift, that time is fleeting. Another year has passed. So quickly gone. No moment but this one is guaranteed, so I'm ready to be in each as the healthiest, strongest, fittest, most conscious, most alive me I've ever been.

That's not just a New Year's resolution. It's a proclamation for 2016.

I've wishy-washed with diets and exercise my whole life. Now I'm ready to go beyond the scale and declare a new way of being in the world. Flexible, balanced.

The folks at Weight Watchers called me in July and asked if I'd join their team—help spread the message about taking a holistic approach to health and fitness.

For me, this was a perfect alignment. I was fed up with my lose-and-gain-again routine. I'd had enough of no-carb regimens. Some people can live without bread and pasta, but it just doesn't make sense to me. All the times I tried to do so only made me crave them more.

I wanted a plan for life, and here it was in the form of Weight Watchers—a program I'd resisted since the '70s. I never had time to go to their meetings, and I hated the idea of counting anything.

That was before I met with my coach, Lisa.

The first week, I felt Ahhh, terrific. I get 30 points a day, based on my gender, age, height, and current weight. With the Weight Watchers app, tracking points is like keeping score in your own game of self-improvement.

I lost five pounds that first week—rewarding, but no big deal since I'd done it so many times before. And yet this time, things were different:
1. I was ready.
2. Weight Watchers fosters full accountability.
3. I didn't have to obsess about what I couldn't eat. The world was my oyster—my 5-point plate of oysters Rockefeller, if I chose!

The point system—now ingrained in my brain—is a useful tool to maintain my food integrity and make healthier food choices. (All fruits and most vegetables: 0 points.) It's taken the pressure off eating. I know I'm accountable for the 30. And for exercising.

For me, this is not a diet. It's a whole shift in perspective. So yes, for sure, I'm a bona fide convert. Down 26 pounds since August 12 and feeling more like the self I want to be.

If you're ready to strip down and step up to the life that's waiting for you, come join me. Make 2016 the year of renewed vibrancy. Love yourself. Then spread the love around.

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