This is usually the scene in my bathroom come morning. My routine: hit the snooze button 4 times. Roll out of bed. Stumble over to the bathroom. Use the bathroom. Brush my teeth. Turn on the shower. And, while I'm waiting for the water to heat up, I step on the scale. It's not a fun way to start the morning, by any means. But you know what was different this morning?...Drum Roll please.... I've lost 3 pounds!

Okay, so I know it's only 3 pounds. But this is the first time that I have actually lost weight while making an effort to exercise and eat better. I lost about 10 pounds this time last year, but that was because I was too lazy to walk down to the dining hall, so I only ate one meal a day. This year, I'm actually trying, and these are the first results that I've seen.

It's really nice to know I'm not doing all of this for nothing. This whole diet and exercise thing does not at all come to me naturally. I love to eat, and I love food. I'm a social eater--it's one of the few things in Athens to do. Want to hang out with someone? Go to dinner! Go get dessert! Already eaten? It's okay, eat again!

My other problem is, as I've said, carbs. I LOVE bread. It's that third roll at dinner, with real butter. Baked potatoes. Mashed potatoes. Scalloped potatoes. Fried potatoes. Rice. Any cake or pastry.

So even though it's hard to keep it up, for the first time I've motivated myself to get up off the couch and do something for once. Even though I would much rather go to the pool or take a nap, I walk on the treadmill for 40-50 minutes. Even though everyone around me (except my mother, who will perpetually eat healthier than me) is eating all the foods that I want to be, I'll go with the option that's better for me. Maybe one day, my scale will smile at me!