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It's a new year, a new slate, and with it comes a new perspective for this column.

No, don't panic.

I am not giving up humor. Humor's the only thing that keeps me going when the calories are spent for the day and things hit a rough patch. You'll still find plenty to laugh about here on this road to losing weight.

But it's time to expand. From time to time, I'll introduce folks who are making their own mark in the world of fitness, health and weight loss. I'll share an insider's view of physicians, experts, and those who've already run the calorie-burning gantlet and won big time.

And you never know. If you ask nice, I might even share a delicious healthy recipe once in a while.

This week I want to introduce you to an exercise I've discovered and to someone who's helped me find my way past the fear of failing at yet another form of exercise.

To begin, let me take you back to move-in day for our little family a couple of years ago. In between loads of boxes and clothes falling off hangers (Who takes hangers off when moving only a few miles away?), our new neighbors, Jan and Stu Rogers, came over to say hello.

When I first met Jan Rogers, I was initially intimidated. After all, she was beautiful, perky and in better shape than most teenagers. So, when she invited me to try out Pilates in her studio, I declined. After all, she didn't have to know about my terrible failings at salsa class, aerobics and all exercise that didn't include putting one foot in front of another.

But when I hit a recent plateau in weight loss, I had a change of heart. I had to try something new.

In desperation, I took her up on the offer and trudged across the street for my first try at Pilates, a form of core muscle strength training developed in the early 1900s by Joseph Pilates, who wanted to improve his health and physical fitness after a sickly childhood.

The controlled mind-body exercises found wide acceptance within the dance community and have become increasingly popular nationwide during the past decade. Many health clubs and private instructors offer a wide variety of Pilates classes with varying degrees of intensity and skill.

My first Pilates session starts easily enough. "Cough," Jan tells me. Cough? The hope of losing weight by coughing is quickly dashed when she further explains as she carefully places her hand on my abdomen. "Feel those muscles when you cough? They are really the transversus abdominus and the pelvic floor muscles activating. Those are a couple of the muscles that we'll be working on; the ones you'll be strengthening through Pilates."

Her next command is almost as easy as coughing. "Breathe. Take a deep breath and feel your rib cage expanding," she says.

As I slowly let the breath go, she helps me discover those coughing muscles and how to use them correctly. Her face lights up as she explains why Pilates is such a valuable form of exercise.

"Pilates is a form of core muscle strength training that realigns and rebalances the body while improving body awareness and flexibility," she says.

During the next few weeks, I discover how to roll my spine up one vertebra at a time using controlled breaths and core muscles. I find out that it isn't how large a movement is but whether it is done using the proper muscles. And I learn to perform a variety of exercises on her studio equipment and to lie balanced on a foam roller, slowly lifting my legs without engaging any of my upper body muscles.

But most importantly, I realize that I didn't fail. I can succeed at Pilates. Nothing feels better than the night I show my family an exercise that I've mastered. It is a serious confidence booster. It's been a long, long time since this overweight woman has been in the instructor's seat when it comes to exercise.

Oh, and I also learn that I have a very cool Pilates instructor for a neighbor. Turns out she's highly trained and well-respected within the Pilates community here in Albuquerque, something that happens to be very important when learning an exercise that depends on using very exact movements that can cause injury when done incorrectly.

As I watch Jan showing me how to do a new move, I envy her rock-hard abs and tiny waist. But then I remember that somewhere under that roll around my middle, my own abs are getting stronger with each lesson.

Pilates is definitely a new beginning for me - a beginning of actually liking exercise.