Her way: a change for the better; A fit lifestyle adds years to her life and life to her years

ON THE EVE OF HER 30TH BIRTHDAY, Jane Scott took stock of her life. She wasn't happy with the results. "My closet carried sizes ranging from 6 to 14," she says. "I smoked two packs of cigarettes a day. I was sedentary, tired and stressed from work." An unsatisfying relationship with a boyfriend was exacerbated by the type of women with whom he consorted. He was a stylist for models, and Scott admits their breakup was caused in large part because she was "jealous of these rail-thin women who sported the latest skimpy fashions. I associated thin with happy."

After years of fluctuating diets and waistlines, Scott decided to take a novel, more hands-on approach to weight loss: exercise. She began her mornings working out with another Jane ... Fonda, the actress-turned-fitness passionista. So, real Jane joined taped Jane in the whole sweat-and-leg-warmer thing. "I would do the workout," Scott says, "and then as soon as the cool-down started, I plopped on the sofa and lit up a cigarette. Scary, huh?"

Within three months, her Fonda-and-nicotine regimen yielded great gains. Her neighbors, however, were less than thrilled with her success. It seems her sunrise grapevines reverberated throughout the walls of her building, waking up the still-sleeping apartment dwellers. To maintain good neighborly relations, she moved her conditioning routine to a local gym, where her childhood dance training quickly moved her to the head of the class.

"I loved it," Scott says. "I was totally free when I exercised."

Scott didn't really diet, she says, just ate sensibly and in moderation. "I know that sounds boring and slow. But if I overate one day, I'd just reduce calories the next. I realized my health was a series of choices with a defined outcome. 'You do this, you get that.'"

The biggest health challenge of all came when she met him. A guy she really liked. Only one tiny problem: He refused to date a smoker. Determined to get her man, Scott went to a hypnotist and gave up her two-pack-a-day habit. She didn't wind up dating him, but she never went back to smoking, either.

Worried that one kicked habit would lead her back to the all-you-can-eat buffet. Scott upped the ante on her workouts: cardio in the morning, weights at night. As the last piece of the fitness puzzle--weight training--fell into place, so did the overall tone and shape of her body ... and her life.

Today, at 44, Scott weighs 30 pounds less than she did at age 30. She remains a sculpted size 4. And she continues to look for new challenges and goals. She's now training for a 26.2-mile charity walk and soon plans on learning how to swim and to ride a bike.

She is, in a word, happy.

JANE'S CARDIO WORKOUT                   JANE'S STRENGTH WORKOUT

Monday: Spinning class                  Monday: Chest, triceps, abs
Tuesday: Elliptical and run/walk on     Tuesday: Back and biceps
  treadmill
Wednesday: Step class                   Wednesday: Shoulders, legs, abs
Thursday: Elliptical and run/walk on    Saturday: Total body circuit
  treadmill
Friday: Rest
Saturday and Sunday: 8-10 mile walk

COPYRIGHT 2003 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group