Strengthen Your Core Several years ago I decided to change my physical condition. I had gained a lot of weight over the years and confronted it one Christmas visiting my brother -- and his bathroom scale ... ugh. I took on a program of running and weight-lifting and changed my eating. However, after a year and a half of that, I had only managed to lose about fifteen pounds. I was healthier, sure -- probably gained more muscle weight and lost some fat -- but I was still frustrated at not being able to get to where I wanted to be. Then ... my back went out on me like a faithless lover. I felt so betrayed. It was the first time anything that debilitating had ever happened to me. I couldn't move at all. When I went to the doctor, he told me I had to do something like yoga or pilates (similar to yoga). I laughed to myself -- the last thing that I wanted to do was bend like that!! So, I ignored him. Throughout the following year I was still unable to to break my plateau, but during that