I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that one of my goals for this year is to lose weight and promised to talk more about it. That time has come.

But first, let’s review 2008: I didn’t have any concrete weight loss goals, but I did want to make exercise a habit and eat more fruit and vegetables. I did pretty well with the first goal, since at the beginning of the year, I wasn’t exercising at all. And by the end of the year, I was exercising three to four days per week. Plus, I ran a 5K in November for the first time ever. (That was such an awesome feeling of accomplishment!)

Also, I joined Weight Watchers last summer. I had great success at the beginning, but then hit a major plateau, got discouraged, and went back to my old habits. I’m still down almost 10 pounds from my initial weigh-in, however, so I’d still call that a success.

And that brings us to 2009. I’m still doing Weight Watchers, and I’m still exercising regularly. Mostly because of Weight Watchers, I do have a firm weight loss goal in mind for the year – I want to lose 15 pounds. After that, I may want to lose another five, but we’ll have to see how I feel 15 pounds from now.

I also want to run another race – I’m thinking of an 8K, since there’s one in April not too far from home. That’s 4.9 miles, which would be a good distance for me – it’s realistic but difficult enough that I would have to push myself to train for it.

And perhaps most importantly, I want to develop better eating habits. I realize that this is something I didn’t do when I first started Weight Watchers. I thought I’d changed my habits for good, but it really didn’t take long for me to revert to my old ways. My downfalls have always been portion sizes and sweets. So it’s important to me that this year, I learn to regard sweets as a treat, and learn to be satisfied with less food in general.

For me, these are all very realistic goals, and if I achieve them all, then I’ll be pretty close to being a poster child for healthy living. My weight will be in a healthy range, I’ll be in good physical condition, and I’ll be eating a nutritious diet. What more could I ask?

I’ve tried losing weight on my own. Many of you can probably relate. I am less than 10 pounds heavier than I was as a teenager, but I was not a svelte teen. In other words, I’ve struggled with my weight for most of my life and I’m sick of it. I’ve made some good changes in the last few months, most notably making time for exercise again. While I’m not working out every day like I was back in the spring, I do exercise 3 to 4 times per week. And I can run 2 miles without a problem.

However, I could use some a lot of help with my eating. I’ve tried FitDay and even SparkPeople after some readers recommended it. But I have to be honest, I fall off the bandwagon pretty quickly.

I’ve thought about joining Weight Watchers many times. I considered the online program but felt my attitude towards it wouldn’t be any different that it was toward FitDay and SparkPeople. Yet as a mother of two young boys who works full-time, it’s impossible to find a minimum of 1 1/2 hours each week to attend a meeting without sacrificing something that’s very important to me.

And then I discovered that there’s a weekly meeting held in the office building where I work. I attended an open house session on Monday, and discovered that I liked the leader. The jury is still out on the other members – I was at least 10 years younger than the person closest to me in age, and more like 20 years younger than most of them, so I felt quite out of place. However, about halfway through the meeting, a woman about my age who looked fabulous came in, holding pictures of herself from two years ago, to show just how far she had come. It was inspiring, to say the least.

The cost for workplace meetings is different from plans held at Weight Watchers centers, so I’ll be paying $208 for 17 weeks, or $15 per session. That seems a little steep, but let’s be honest, nothing else has really worked for me. I’ve never done Weight Watchers before, and it’s obviously worked for other people, so I feel I have to give it a try.

Good health is one of those things I believe in spending money on. So I hope that this will be money that is more than well spent.

I was talking with a friend who is currently doing Weight Watchers and she mentioned something I noticed at the open house meeting: there’s an encouragement to eat whatever is low-calorie, even if it is fake or processed. Not surprisingly, the meeting leader was selling Weight Watchers food products, including nutrition bars and snacks. I was more surprised when she said she carries spray bottles of butter and salad dressing with her when she goes out to eat, and that she only buys low-fat, reduced calorie snacks for her children.

That’s not something I plan to do. I just need help learning to eat a few bites of cake instead of the whole piece. And I would rather have a few bites of the real thing than a big piece of fake cake. I also think the weekly meetings will serve as a huge motivator for me, which is what I need most of all. It’ll be a chance to re-commit each week to losing weight, with some guidance on how to make that happen.

One thing this means for CFO is more recipes. I don’t plan to change what I eat, except to add more fruit and vegetables, so I will have to focus on cutting back on how much I eat. And that means measuring, and that means I’m more likely to write down a recipe instead of just throwing it together like I usually do. I will probably also make more Cooking Light recipes, since I find them to be pretty reliable.

In the meantime, if you’ve done Weight Watchers before, I would love it if you would share your tips on making the most of the program in the comments. Thanks!