You guys, I've started exercising regularly for the first time in my life

When my doctor told me at my most recent appointment that I have high cholesterol, I thought she was going to suggest a diet change. Nope. She told me to exercise more.

Confession: I have never exercised regularly.

Usually, when I want to lose weight, I'll restrict my diet á la something like South Beach or L.A. Weight Loss. It takes a lot of frustration to get me to that point. I love food, especially fried food. I love chocolate, too, but I would give it up before I gave up bread.

When I get really frustrated, I'll pull out my aerobics and yoga videos and do them for a few days... and then inevitably I'll get busy, or sick, or go on vacation, and I never really develop the habit. Sitting at a desk for a living doesn't help.

I've thought about buying small weights or going big with an elliptical machine since they go on sale on Groupon once in a while... then I don't, because I don't want to invest in something I might not use. Same with investing in a gym membership: I don't want to spend X number of dollars per month on something I might poop out on after two weeks or less.

Meanwhile, my clothes aren't fitting as nicely as I'd like them to, and I do not want to buy a new wardrobe. I have to do something, and I'm not in the mood to diet. (Some say dieting or even counting calories isn't the way to go anyway.) So, I have to exercise.

Since I am cheap, I decided to do something I can do for free, at least at the beginning.

I've started running.

And since aerobics on its own isn't the most effective way to lose weight and I don't have access to weights, I'm doing yoga, too.

I downloaded a Couch to 5k app on my phone that tells me when to start running, when to start walking, when I'm halfway through the workout, and when to cool down. I've been doing it for 9 weeks and I am terrible at it. I haven't actually been able to completely follow the program since the end of week 2. This morning I saw that I was supposed to run for 25 minutes at a stretch and laughed. I walk a little and run a little then walk some more and on and on... I'm trying. I hope I'm improving. This is new. I walk/run three days a week -- usually Monday, Wednesday, and Friday -- and do yoga on Tuesday and Thursday. Yoga is HARD! It's weird that I enjoy it as much as I do.

But wait. Did I say I've been doing this for 9 weeks?! When I've never been consistent before? That's amazing! What changed?

I started getting up early.

You have no idea what a big deal this is for me, guys. I am a night owl. I love sleeping in. I love sleeping period. I hate getting out of bed. I hit snooze a lot (even now). Mornings are my enemy until at least 11 a.m.

But the brain is mighty, so I force myself to get up anyway, and no matter how tired I am, I am always glad I did. People talk about having extra energy when they exercise. I haven't noticed this to be true -- I am still exhausted all day on some days -- but it has helped me to wake up and be in a slightly better mood in the mornings. I also sleep better at night.

I mostly feel proud of myself for doing something I know I should. The satisfaction is the biggest benefit so far.

I don't want to set a weight loss goal because I don't want to obsess about it. I mostly want this to become something I just do everyday because it's good for me. I haven't mentioned any of this to the masses previously because 1) I wanted to make sure I could and would do it, and 2) I read (and found to be true) that you shouldn't share your goals because the validation might make you less motivated to actually achieve them.

Funny enough, since I haven't overdone exercise or dance or extreme sports in the past, my joints are in pretty good shape. I'm stiff and weak and out of practice, obviously. That is annoying. I've been taking it slow and giving myself permission not to be too hard on myself mentally while slowly increasing the difficulty level physically. It helps to know that even fitness gurus struggle sometimes. I could probably push myself further. I'm afraid of getting hurt and falling out of the habit yet again!

I'm excited to see what happens in the coming months, and what my body learns to do as I continue. I admit I have been spoiled by not doing a show this summer, because I can go to bed earlier or work out in the evenings on the rare weekdays (only two so far) that I couldn't get out of bed. Somehow, I think it will be easier when the weather cools down a little... then again, morning darkness might be a deterrent. I might need to get a little more creative when it comes to exercise methods. Dare I even consider the idea of a gym membership? That would require getting up even earlier to account for travel... we'll see.

And even though weight loss isn't necessarily the goal -- which is lucky because I haven't noticed much change in my silhouette yet -- I hope my clothes fit properly again soon.

BTW, this is adorable: