So yeah. Maybe Josh wasn’t into her right now. But that didn’t mean that wouldn’t change in the future. His attraction to her could grow over time. And if she shed some pounds, so would her level of confidence.

She wasn’t losing weight for Josh though. She was doing this for herself. Regardless of where he stood, she needed to make this change for health reasons. That was first and foremost on her mind. Yet that didn’t mean she couldn’t benefit from her weight loss in other ways.

Preslee wanted to buy cute clothes that fit well. She wanted to feel confident and sexy. If Josh happened to notice the change in her and asked her out, well then, it would just be an added bonus. Sort of be like her playing the part of her own fairy godmother while turning herself into a healthier after-version of Cinderella.

Besides, she deserved her happily ever after. All women did.

That wasn’t confidence oozing from her. It was determination. And maybe a bit of motivation. Now she just needed to figure out how she was going to get fit.

Her doctor had recommended making specific lifestyle changes, which included reducing her caloric intake and increasing her activity level.

Yet there was the issue. The problem had never been that she didn’t know how to lose weight. She did. She’d read enough magazine articles about health and fitness. But unfortunately, it was a lot like churning homemade butter. She knew what needed to be done and could easily instruct others on how to do it. But the long process of actually churning the butter was the hardest, most daunting part. That was probably why people like her took the easy way out and bought their butter from the grocery store. Little to no effort required.

Great. Now I’m craving buttered toast.

She was tempted to go to the break room and make herself a slice, but that wouldn’t be the best thing for her diet. Besides, her legs were still a little sore from the evil stair-climber she’d encountered at the gym the other night. Sadly, they felt much better now compared to the past few days.

When she’d gotten out of bed the morning after, her legs had ached so badly that she’d hoped they would just fall off. Every step she’d taken toward the bathroom had been filled with pain, misery, and lots of grumbling.

On the second day, when she’d had to stand in front of the sink for an extended period of time to do her hair and makeup before work, her poor leg muscles had quivered relentlessly until they’d nearly given out.