As I lifted the weight up, my shoulder made a loud cracking sound. When I lowered it, there were more popping sounds.

While I felt old and embarrassed, I knew I was finally taking a step in the right direction. I was actually making a serious attempt at exercise.

This effort to increase my physical movement actually started a couple of weeks ago when I was on a walk with my friend and co-worker, Meghan. She suggested getting together to workout — something a little more than a walk.

Work and out are not generally terms that I put together.

In the past, I would just say I didn’t have time between work and school. But I couldn’t use that excuse when the idea was to meet on Saturday morning.

So when we met, Meghan showed me a series of exercises that focus on the “core.” How can I describe them? Each exercise looks simple, but that is an evil, evil deception.

There is one exercise where you jump up and when you land, you land in a squat position and hold it for a minute. It sounds easy, right? It starts out easy, but later you feel pain where you aren’t supposed to feel pain.

The day after Meghan introduced torture to my life, I was in pain. As a general rule, this type of discomfort would be my reason why I shouldn’t exercise.

Oh, I thought about it. But I came to the realization that the only way to be less sore was to exercise more. I actually worked out by myself on Sunday and Wednesday. I was surprised too!

Maybe this will help me eat better and feel better.

Food Junkie Discovery

I like soup and some of the canned soups are fairly low-calorie and low-carb. Recently, I was shopping and discovered that V8 is making soups now. I tried the Southwestern Corn. It wasn’t bad. A serving (about a cup) has 150 calories and 26 grams of carbs. If you do what I did and eat the whole thing, that is just 300 calories and 52 carbs — not great but better than a cheeseburger.

All I wanted was a cup of orange cream Dippin’ Dots. I paid my $3 and started to eat the yummy little balls of ice cream.

Then I see her: Amanda, my diet buddy. She is standing to the right of my desk. She has a quizzical look on her face.

“You aren’t going to eat all of them are you?” she asks.

“Um,” gulp “Maybe,” I said with the spoon halfway back to the treat’s container. “You aren’t going to make me spit it out are you?”

The answer was no, but before I knew it, she had half of my Dippin’ Dots. She didn’t eat them (though I hope she thought about it before they melted).

“You told me to watch your back, and you didn’t need all of them,” she told me.

Although she didn’t really appreciate my little food misadventure, she reminded me that we make mistakes. We have bad weeks. More importantly, she pointed out that she was there to help me get back on track.

The exchange with Amanda, as well as some kind words from bloggers and readers, underscore how important a little bit of support is when we make life changes.

For me, it comes from Amanda, Mr. X and readers. I’m lucky, they all keep me going, and are kind enough to forgive mistakes. Readers offer suggestions and encouragement, even forced me to face the scale.

The lesson? Doing it alone is not fun and having people to help you along the way is OK.

The plug? Well, there is the blog (I’ll be your support and you can be mine). There are also a number of groups around the community: Taking Off Pounds Sensibly and Overeaters Anonymous are just two. You might want to search around for the one that is right for you.

Food Junkie Discovery

I have to say thanks to reporter Meghan Walsh for this one: Candy. With Halloween coming, we in the newsroom have been debating whether the Chocolate Jar should make a comeback. Meghan found low-calorie candy treats, like Butterfingers, M&Ms, York bars and Twix. The calories range from 90 to 100 calories. She has a bowl filled with these gems. I’m planning on treating myself a little later — to one, only one.

Sometimes, I feel like the only thing I do is eat — especially at work.

It is kind of weird to say that, since I am trying to watch how much I eat to lose a little weight. But it may be working out in the long run.

When I start feeling a ping of hunger, I eat.

I snack.

I keep rice cakes and tortillas at my desk, or I bring some fruit from home. If I am really desperate, I might buy a packet of peanuts from the vending machine.

Needless to say my lunch sack is pretty full after I pack my lunch and snacks.

It struck me the other day that maybe I am eating too much and I was on track to put back any weight that I have lost. Bummer thoughts.

Then I decided I would pay close attention to what was going in my mouth. In one day, I ate mini rice cakes as a morning snack, a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich for lunch, a pudding cup for dessert and string cheese. Later in the day I had a tortilla with some leftover guacamole.

OK, it sounds like a lot but I eat small portions and they seem to keep me from getting really hungry during the day. I can honestly say that when I go home and cook dinner, I am not starving and not gorging on the food I’m preparing.

Snacking also seems to cut down on cravings and the trips to the vending machine — even the ones where I just go to look at the candy I shouldn’t have and cry.

Food Junkie Discovery

Quaker’s mini rice cakes are a nice quick, low-calorie snack that comes in a variety of flavors. The cakes are about the size of an average potato chip. At my house, the cheddar and caramel varieties are very popular. The caramel cakes have about 60 calories for a serving of six mini cakes. They are tasty and easy to pack in a lunch. As good as the cakes are, there is a drawback: It is easy to get carried away and end up eating half of the bag.

I live nearly 2,000 miles away from my free source of fresh tomatoes.

Two-thousand miles from free vine-ripe goodies from mama’s garden. I’m pretty sure a trip through the postal system — or related shipping company — would wiggle Okie-grown tomatoes into mush. At least that is what my mom tells me when I beg her to send me tomatoes.

So what is a food junkie with a craving for fresh tomatoes to do?

I found the answer a couple of weeks ago at the farmers market as more and more produce sellers appeared. There is one vendor — and I don’t know his name — that said he planted 10 acres of tomatoes.

That’s a lot of ‘maters. So my new goal is to help him get rid of some those vine-ripe fruits. And they aren’t too expensive. I bought two smallish tomatoes for 90 cents, which doesn’t sound a lot unless you are the person who used to get FREE produce.

I really can’t complain too much. The farmers market makes it a little cheaper to get good, and fairly local, food.

Oh, yeah, and it is healthy. To date, the farmers market has helped me consume more green beans, squash and fruit without breaking the bank.

Food Junkie Discovery

While my favorite way to eat tomatoes is simply sliced with a little cottage cheese, I like to chop ’em up, add a little olive oil, a bit of choice vinegar (red wine is good) and a few onion slices. Simple salads make me happy.

I hate food.

OK, that isn’t true.

We all know that I love food; and this love is proving fatal to my weight loss plans.

I have fallen off the wagon — a couple of times — this month. I can run down a laundry list of reasons why: Work, stress, school, fatigue, etc., etc.

And I am finding it hard to get back on the wagon. Each day I think I do better, I find where I failed.

Take Tuesday for instance. I got home kind of late.

I was feeling tired and down. I needed a pick-me-up. Specifically I wanted sugar — and lots of it — to give me a burst of energy.

Solution: Ice cream.

Wait, not just ice cream, but a blizzard with peanut butter-chocolate cookies. A guaranteed rush.

Of course it was followed by a crash and me falling asleep at my computer.

It has been the same pattern all week. I am ready to throw my hands up in the air and be done with.

But … I don’t like the way I feel right now. Despite the sugar rushes, I feel tired, strung out. The food I love? Lately it hasn’t tasted as good as I remember.

I miss my carrots.

So, starting today, I’m back on the wagon. The focus is making the right food choices and not eating too much.

Food Junkie Discovery:

I have noticed I don’t eat as well when I feel really pushed for time. I think in order for me to have better success I need to do more planning and make better use of my time.

I’m a busy person.

I know, everybody says that. But really, between a full-time job and working on a master’s degree, I’m busy. The unpacked boxes are the proof.

The busy bug sometimes interferes with eating right. When I’m busy, I want something quick and easy. We all know where that leads — the drive-thru.

Until recently, running through the drive-thru meant going to Taco Bell, or throwing caution to the wind with a burger and fries.

I just didn’t realize I had a choice, since I didn’t associate salad with a fast food restaurant.

Then there was a day we were in a hurry to get some things done. Wendy’s seemed like the best option.

I didn’t want a burger, and I really didn’t want fries. Luckily, there were options. Wendy’s lets you choose your sides.

So I opted for the Asian-style buffalo wings (chicken nuggets covered with a sweet-spicy sauce) and a Caesar salad.

It was actually a decent salad. I’ll be honest, I half expected wilted lettuce and listless taste. It’s good to be wrong.

The best thing is, I finally realize I have a choice, even at a fast food restaurant. What’s funny is, it probably has been there all along.

Food Junkie Discovery

Pam. (The no-stick skillet spray.) I know it has been around for ages. But I used it the other day instead of olive oil, when I fried a couple of eggs for a sandwich. It has no calories, sugars or carbs, and it made my eggs fluffy with no oily taste.

I don’t think I can be part of the Clean Plate Club anymore. I’m quitting the Waste Not Want Not Association, too.

Membership in these groups conflicts with eating smaller servings and stopping when I start to feel full.

First, understand these are not real organizations. But growing up, we were always encouraged to be thrifty. I can still hear my grandmother asking if I wanted to be a member of the Clean Plate Club. Of course I did.

Membership qualified a person for dessert.

When I was little, being a member of the Clean Plate Club and not wasting food was easy. My mother made sure our mounds of mashed potatoes were age-appropriate.

But as we got older, we started serving ourselves. Suddenly there was a mountain of spuds on my plate.

Somehow I missed the lesson there. I still struggle with serving size.

Eating out is a great example. Whatever I order generally is larger than the recommended serving size. I try to eat every single bite because I paid for it, and generally it tastes good.

At home, I’m a little better. I take what I can eat and get seconds on salad and vegetables. It is the advantage of cooking at home: We just make what we plan to eat. But there are still moments when I finish off the last two spoonfuls of what’s left.

I think the key to success lies with not feeling guilty about dropping out of the Clean Plate Club. I will just have to remind myself at each meal, each day.

Food Junkie Discovery:

Crystal Light On the Go. This little gem has 5 calories, no carbs and no sugars per serving. It is easy to mix and fills that need for something sweet without actually having something sweet. It is a nice substitute for lemonade or other juices.Crystal Light On the Go. This little gem has 5 calories, no carbs and no sugars per serving. It is easy to mix and fills that need for something sweet without actually having something sweet. It is a nice substitute for lemonade or other juices.