My Secret to Weight Loss? Get A Trainer

In September, 2006, I was a bridesmaid in my cousin's wedding and could barely fit into the dress I had easily slid into months before. Stepping on the scale, I realized I had somehow gained a whopping 25 pounds in a little over a year. The weight gain was so gradual that I didn't notice. It took the bridesmaid dress -- and the subsequent wedding pictures that came later -- for me to realize, uh-oh, I have got to put a stop to this.

I knew what to do. I didn't sign up for a triathlon. I didn't get up an hour earlier each morning to go for a run. I didn't sign up with Weight Watchers. I simply found a personal trainer. I realized long ago that the only way I'll go to the gym and stick with a fitness plan is to meet with a trainer a couple times a week. If I don't show, I get charged a full session. If I do show, I feel amazing about myself. Just weeks after I started training (and watching what I ate), the pounds started sliding off.

Since I started training with David at New York Sports Club a year ago, I've lost almost 30 pounds and I've never felt more svelte. David would prefer I go to the gym a couple extra times a week for cardio, but I told him, "Sorry, but this, and the random yoga session, is as good as it gets." I plan to never not have a trainer.