As I lay on the table, getting my face exfoliated and peeled with acid, I wondered to myself, how could I let this happen?

Dr. Sophia Grant: I never needed to be coiffed routinely or waxed and massaged, but I did take care of myself. I did try to take care of myself and look attractive. I worked out. I did things to make myself look and feel attractive. But it had been two years since my last facial and months since I did anything resembling physical activity. I asked the question so many women have asked themselves: How could I let myself go? Before I got off the table, I wondered what else the esthetician could do to my face to get rid of my complacent sludge. Easy Off? A BLOW TORCH?

I guess it started with the stress at work. I got a major pay cut and was forced to work outside my desired area of expertise. Add to the mix three busy kids, a dog, husband, house and bills and there you have an energy-sucking scenario. Just coming home, fixing dinner (sometimes) and dealing with the family was all I could handle.

Work out? Jog? Are you kidding me? Let's be honest. I do hate exercise. I have never been athletic. I never got the Presidential fitness award in elementary school. After trying all forms, I decided that jogging was the best thing for me. Aerobics required too much coordination, the treadmill made me feel like I was going nowhere fast, and the elliptical, well that just made me nauseous, like I was walking on one of those suspension bridges you see in a "Raiders of the Lost Ark" movie. I even hated yoga. It just reminded me of my inadequacies in slow motion.

So I'm back in my sneakers again. It takes so much to get me out the door: Ankle support. Knee brace. Jogging bras (I wear two), water, cell phone and ID. I start off slowly, peak slowly, but do try to finish with my "little burst." I have neither hit the wall nor gotten the high that runners speak of. This would be so much easier if I just got that high. I made the foolish mistake of trying to jog with my dog. She's an 88 pounder who is capable of pulling me. Get her into a little trot and she's off. I stopped when I nearly fell for the third time on our little jog. She needs to run with a Kenyan, not me.

I'm trying to take care of me. I know that exercise is not the only thing, but along with quiet time and occasional pampering, it is, quite literally, a first step.

Dr Sophia Grant has over 15 years of experience as a pediatrician working in a variety of settings. After completion of a fellowship in Child Abuse and Neglect at the University of Oklahoma, she stayed on as a faculty member and is now a Clinical Assistant Professor. She is also co-author of "Visual Diagnosis of Child Abuse on CD-ROM", third edition. When not doctoring, Dr Grant spends her time being a wife and mother of three wonderful children.