12 Step Program

With apologies to my BFFs, there is a new girl in town. We met through mutual friends several months back, and although we haven't gotten together much since then, I have a feeling she will be an important part of my life.

The new girl has plenty of friends herself, and, like her, they are relentlessly cheery and ready to smile and have a good time. They travel in a pack – I doubt she goes anywhere alone – and they are there to cheer each other on. You can tell immediately upon meeting her that she is the leader of this pack. She is willing to drop by whenever I want to see her, requiring no notice, and she'll leave just as readily.

It took me a long time to have her over. Oh, she was here, but I wouldn't speak to her. I kept putting her off, claiming I had other (better, more important) things to do. Even if I didn't.

Finally, I decided it was time to get better acquainted. I invited Leslie Sansone into my family room, removed her DVD from her package, and sat down, exhausted at the prospect of keeping up with her and her gang of fitness freaks.

Leslie Sansone is the Queen of Walking DVDs. The one I bought, after being introduced to her at a walking class after Weight Watchers, is called "Walk Slim." You'll notice that these are both four-letter words. The subtitle is "5 Really Big Miles." Well, I thought, a mile is still a mile, so how big can it get? I’d soon find out.

Working out with Leslie isn't for the faint of heart. She cajoles you into walking, walking, walking. I was exhausted during the five-minute warm-up, when the most vigorous thing we did besides marching was to take sidesteps. By the time we launched into mile 1, I was considering switching to the PBS exercise program for seniors, "Sit and Be Fit," which seemed more my speed. But I persisted through kicks, high knees, double "tap outs" and even an occasional grapevine. Anything that involved moving my arms in conjunction with my legs presented a new challenge. Clearly, coordination is not my strong suit. Then, as an added challenge, we moved into exercises using a stretchy band of rubber that came with the DVD. OK, now I was really challenged. I have new respect for anyone who can do Zumba classes, since I was about as graceful as C.C. Sabathia in a ballet class with my legs moving side to side and the band stretching diagonally, trying not to trip or do other bodily harm.

All the while you follow Leslie, she makes you walk. In between sidesteps and grapevines, you walk. And then you march. And then you walk some more. For someone who expects to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for plugging in the iPod and venturing outside for a 45-minute walk around the neighborhood, this seems in theory to be easy but in practice is – how can I put this? – torture! My thighs were burning, my knees were tingling, and my core, which was supposed to be tightening up, was just missing in action.

My sister Nancy has known Leslie for years. In fact, they get together nearly every morning. Though Nancy likes to walk outside, she and Leslie keep in close contact all winter, and they spend a lot of time together throughout the year. By this time, she knows all of Leslie’s moves, so she listens to her own music and ignores Leslie’s audio, just following her by watching the exercises. If you saw my sister, you’d know this technique works for her.

Mind you, Leslie is hardly the only game in town. There are DVDs on Zumba, countless other fitness videos from countless other experts, and programs with provocative (and, frankly, scary) names like “Killer Thighs,” “Buns of Steel,” etc. Compared to these, the rather amiable title of Leslie’s “Walk Slim” seems pretty friendly to me.

So why put myself through this routine? Having lost 60+ pounds on Weight Watchers, I realize that diet alone isn’t going to help me continue to lose weight and improve my health. I need to do more than bob around in the pool with my aqua aerobics pals a couple of times a week. Let’s face it, 60 pounds ago, I wouldn’t have had the strength to open Leslie’s DVD (step 1 in my 12-step program), but now I have the energy to do so much more that it is time to step it up, so to speak.

As for me, I’d like to see pictures of Leslie and her gang BEFORE they started this 12-step program. Did they look like me? Is how they look now how I will look if I continue to invite Leslie into my home and follow her around the family room? I don't know but I better keep walking. So far, I have only conquered miles one and two of the 5 really big miles. Already my pants feel bigger – though I realize that that might just be wishful thinking. Will Leslie come back and try to push me further? Will I let her in or put her DVD in the closet with the collection of others I don't watch?

Stay tuned. Or toned. I’m only up to step 2.