"I would never surgically alter my body," I declared at age 19, in that youthfully ignorant way of someone whose curves and facial features still effortlessly defied gravity.

Now, at age 46, I understand why the older women at the table that evening rolled their eyes.

I haven't gone under the knife (yet) but I have spent the last year and a half working hard on diet and exercise in an attempt to not only regain some of my appeal, but also improve my health. I didn't just cut back on sweets and start jogging again; to produce actual results, I had to try something new. Desperate times call for desperate measures. We're talking thousands of squats, lunges and burpees. Burpees!