I'd rather be naked!

Because I'm no longer a 242-pound swell of pregnant belly...

a butt as big and round as two basketballs...

and lumpy legs so huge I couldn't cross them!

Nor am I plagued by the fear and anxiety, the mood swings and self-loathing of a wicked yo-yo dieting syndrome that made me miserable for much of my life.

Thanks to faith and fitness, I have conquered those self-defeating demons... setting my mind, body and spirit free to savor every second of this glorious life!

And I want to share my fitness success story with you... as I did on The Oprah Winfrey Show... to show that it's possible to transform yourself on every level into someone who is peaceful, powerful and beaming with positive energy to share your unique talents with the world.

For me, it all starts with old-fashioned exercise and eating healthy!

Working out almost every day and following a super-healthy food plan has me looking and feeling better now than I did as a teenager!

After years of shame and self-consciousness over my body size and shape, I now celebrate the bootylicious curves from my African American mother that I once feared looked freakish on a body as vanilla-hued as my French Canadian/English/Cherokee father.

So it's only natural that I love being naked to showcase how I shrunk off more than 100 pounds and sculpted my muscles into an hourglass that's so energized and exuberant... I recently ran 18 miles in a marathon!

In fact, it's often after working out or running - when endorphins sizzle my creative juices to boil up steamy scenes and serious stories alike - that I sit at my computer in the buff to ride that creative energy surge by typing away for hours.

Then when I glimpse the body that used to make me cry and cringe with disgust - I sometimes gasp at the dramatic transformation that my brain made possible for my body over the past six years.

From fat and fearful to contoured and confident.

From miserable to marveling at life's blessings!

From out of control and out of whack to a precision-tuned machine of muscle, blood and bones — fueled by superior nutrition, positive thought and indomitable faith.

From anxious and fretful to calm and committed, following my life purpose as the Princess of Peace... a human bridge between all colors and cultures.

From a super-size 26 to a sleek 6 who savors every second... facing the sun, the universe, with glorious grace and gratitude for electrifying my life with courage, confidence and the sensuous thrill of FINALLY loving myself the way God made me!

I say all of this not to be boastful.

Because the magic of this story is NOT physical at all.

It's mental. And spiritual.

Before I could change my body, I had to reprogram my brain. How I did that is something I want to shout to you and the millions of people who are struggling with weight and food and body image and self esteem right now.

Fitness is the engine that powers the solution to changing and strengthening not only our bodies but also our minds and spirits. Then our physical selves begin to reflect the good health and happiness within.


I talk about it everywhere I go — the cleaners, church, book clubs, schools, restaurants. And seeing me is believing (although I carry a flier with "before" and "after" pictures because some folks just don't believe I used to weigh 242 pounds!)

So how'd I do it?

How did I battle down the diet demons that had warped and ravaged my mind, body and spirit for so many years? A lot of people say my bubbly personality and accomplishments as a journalist and author make it hard to believe I was once so unhappy. So...

Imagine, an 11-year-old girl starving herself all day long, then eating a sliver of steak and plain lettuce for dinner. Losing weight and loving the compliments, but then stuffing herself with ice cream, candy and peanut butter until she packed on 20, 30 pounds.

Stuff, starve. Feast, famine.

Until she became a teenager who once fasted for five days until she fainted. Thank goodness she could never make herself throw up all that ice cream she scarfed down... it just wouldn't work! So she gained weight, then got back onto her restrictive regimen.

Up, down. Happy, sad.

Dreading waking up in the morning to look at the puffy face, the fatter-by-the-minute bloated body, the closet full of too-tight clothes, that feeling of being sucked into an emotional abyss by a psychotic sugar crash...

Always, the value of her day and her sense of self-worth would hinge on whether she had been "good" or whether her "skinny jeans" fit. But more often than not, it seemed candy bars, ice cream and cheese would overwhelm her resolve to finally eat healthy, balanced meals and feel good about herself.

In college, it only got worse. She coped with academic pressures by indulging in late-night pizza with roommates. While going to class and working long hours at the campus newspaper, she'd hide behind big sweatshirts and baggy pants.

"What's happening?" she cried aloud while staring at her ballooning body in the dorm room mirror. "This has to stop!"

But it didn't. It kept her secretly miserable in graduate school. Her first job as a big-city newspaper reporter. Her marriage.

But then, that person made a decision:

"I am not going to let this ruin the rest of my life."

Right after that, though, she got pregnant. And packed on 70 pounds! After her healthy baby boy was born, she was ready to take action. But she couldn't.

The doctor told her to wait six weeks so that her Cesarean incision could heal. Then a nasty bout of double pneumonia the week after she gave birth laid her up in the hospital for five days, leaving her asthmatic lungs weak and wheezy for months.

Still she kept her eyes on the prize — a sleek, strong body — and began walking daily as soon as she could. She bought a baby jogger, and was soon running several times a week. At the same time, she ate about 1200 to 1500 calories a day worth of baked chicken, fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low fat cheese.

And I — the new Elizabeth — began to flutter out of that cocoon of fat. Within a year, I emerged 100 pounds lighter! My metamorphosis continued as I fine-tuned my diet, learned about strength training, and practiced the power of positive thinking and faith in all the infinite possibilities of life.

Working out with my brilliant personal trainer, Jarrod Bell, helped me strategize my exercise to get more results in less time. And he taught me how to use exercise to tap into the tremendous mental and spiritual strength that is so calming and empowering, it feels like magic.

Now, my workouts include a little bit of everything: running, walking, bike riding, swimming, stretching, strength training with free weights, polymerics (quick bursts of exercise that get the heart pumping and the fat burning--like jumping jacks) and lots of stretching.

What do I eat?

Usually four to six smaller meals and snacks throughout the day — each a balance of protein, smart carbs and healthy fat. That way, I rarely get too hungry and always have a fresh dose of energy to turbo-charge my writing or workouts or playtime with my son.

It's taken years to figure out what works, and now that it's making me feel so wonderful, there's little temptation to deviate from this magic formula. The trick is, find what works for you. Experiment. You don't have to take your diet to extremes. But if you really want to get the most bang for your buck in the gym, your diet plays a HUGE role in that. If you want to FEEL better, fend off illness and even cure yourself, eating healthy is the best medicine.

So here's what I eat:

PROTEIN: salmon, tuna, turkey (my mother bakes a whole turkey every week and we eat it for days!), turkey burgers (no bun), baked/grilled chicken, and vanilla protein shakes in my coffee

GRAINS: oatmeal and sushi-style brown rice

FRUITS: bananas, apples, grapefruit, pineapple, strawberries

VEGGIES: spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, corn, peas, and I love asparagus!

FATS: walnuts, olive oil (works wonders for your skin--I even use it in my hair!)

DAIRY: I am addicted to organic yogurt... I never get sick 'cause it works magic on the immune system! Also love low fat mozzarella sticks.

"What!" people gasp in shock. "You don't eat sugar or flour?!"

No. Because two years ago, I kept reading that if you cut sugar and flour out of your diet, you'll smooth away cellulite. It's true! Giving up my favorite buttered wheat bread and sugary treats brought great results.

And it cured my asthma and allergies! Turns out, some folks actually have a wheat allergy that causes all kinds of problems. So if someone offers a piece of pecan pie, I'll think about how I used to sneeze and wheeze and take all kinds of steroids, inhalers just to breathe. No thanks!

I don't drink, either. I used to be the tequila shot queen. A night of boating or hitting the jazz joints meant lots of white zinfandel or cranberry juice and vodka cocktails as we danced into the night, then indulged in fried chicken wings at 2 a.m. Now, not only do I not miss the calories, but the sluggish feeling the day after just doesn't synch with my preference for mental clarity and high-energy activities like bike riding and running.

My regimen is not a sacrifice, because I feel so awesome.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I figured out why I was abusing food and my body. The old Elizabeth used sugar as a sedative to soothe away stress. I knew I had to reprogram my brain with a new response to stress, before I could get rid of the physical manifestation of this behavior - fat! So I decided to use journaling, prayer and exercise as my new tools to use at the first sting of stress.

With many years of practice, my brain is now on autopilot.

It was never more evident than during some tense moments during my divorce. Instead of letting anxiety trigger a craving for cookies or ice cream, worries and anger would automatically signal words to blast through my brain: "I have to run!" So I'd lace up my Nikes, pound the pavement and release all negative emotion. Or I'd think, "I have to write!" and I'd bang out my feelings on my computer keyboard in a journal entry. And I'd pray: "God please help me."

I do not believe that lasting weight loss and fitness success can endure until you replace emotional eating with a new outlet and therapy for stress.

So take it from me - Faith and Fitness can work such miracles for your mind, body and spirit, that you may find yourself exclaiming, "I'd rather be naked, too!"