Dancing with the Stars' Josie Maran's Diet and Workout

A Fitness Makeover

WEEK ONE

It's not about my weight or that I'm a relatively new mom with low energy. The reason I volunteered for a 30-Day FITNESS Makeover was that I want to get strong. When I was voted off Dancing with the Stars, some people made comments about my not being fit, and that was frustrating. Don't get me wrong: I have no regrets about doing the TV show -- it was great fun, actually. I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to be on Dancing with the Stars. It's entertainment, people. The producers are going to go for the drama, for the good storyline. People watching it at home take it so seriously. Lighten up! I mean, I worked really hard on my routine, but I knew what the deal was. I signed up to play a game and I played my part.

But I also realized I needed to get stronger -- for myself, no one else. Today, I met with Ashley Koff, RD, a nutritionist who is coming up with a plan to help me eat for energy -- that's what I'm focusing on. The truth is, I lost a few pounds when I was training for Dancing with the Stars. Not intentionally -- it was just a really intense training program for four weeks, six hours every day, to learn all the dance moves and work out a routine with my partner.

I asked Ashley to help me create a diet with healthy fats so I could gain some weight back and get strong. The plan she came up with is to eat a small meal every three hours or so, as opposed to saving all the calories for one big dinner at the end of the day, which I've been known to do. Ashley said this plan will keep me satisfied and more energetic. It's a bit of an adjustment -- usually, I don't like breakfast and I just have coffee and milk, but now I'm adding an egg, followed by a snack of nuts and seeds. We'll see how it goes.

My 30-day workouts focus on a strength-training program called the Fluidity Method, developed by Michelle Austin, who created this technique of toning and strengthening using her "Fluidity" bar. A lot of dancers use it; it creates long, lean muscles, which is what I want. I've been following along with the Fluidity DVDs at home, rather than going to a gym. The workout lasts about 30 to 40 minutes, every other day. I've done it for three days now and I'm sore, from my biceps to my butt!

I'm happy to say, I think I can go the distance with this program. The bonus is that the exercise part is not terribly time-intensive -- important since I'm in the middle of launching my first cosmetics line -- and the eating plan is not too far off from my natural tendencies. The downside? Well, I'm only in my first week!