August 22, 2008 | 7:20 pm

Lighter me, lighter wallet

Posted by Mrs. Shoshana F

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Who knew that losing weight would be so expensive?

Vegetables and fruit cost more than McDonalds. Weight Watchers costs money. A 24-Hour Fitness membership costs money. And, worst of all, buying new clothes in a smaller size costs money.

I know there are ways to get around that. I don’t have to go to Weight Watchers. I can walk around my neighborhood. I can pick up sewing as a hobby and take in my clothes.

But I think if I did that, it wouldn’t be quite as much fun.

It’s fun to see how creative you can get with your salads. It’s fun to weigh in every week at the meetings and get closer and closer to goal (at 10 percent you get a gold star keychain). It’s fun to get glances at the gym when you can switch from baggy pants and t-shirts to shorts and tank tops. It’s a whole new realm of fun to walk into a store and head straight for a size you haven’t been in years.

I made a promise with myself that by the time I reached our one-year wedding anniversary (and subsequent vacation), I would have lost enough weight to justify purchasing a new swimsuit.

I’ve done it – with my husband’s help.

Both of us are now the proud owners of jeans that are too big in the thighs and shirts that feel like tents. We also own two new formal pieces for a wedding we are attending next weekend: a black suit from Men’s Wearhouse that my husband never thought he could wear and a dress from Nordstrom that I put on and almost started to cry.

And, thanks to Exercise TV on our Video on Demand (VOD) system, I can workout at home when I don’t feel like spending gas money to shlep to the gym (incidentally, the episodes are free).

I’m almost at that gold star – one more Bridal Bootcamp episode from VOD and I’m there. Considering the price of gold these days, maybe I can sell it to pay for next month’s gym membership.