By Amy L. Schubert Food Writer Published Apr 19, 2008 at 8:19 AM

As a food writer, people constantly ask me how I manage to stay pretty small despite the copious amounts of food I eat out in any given week.

Mind you, I am by no means as thin as I would care to be, nor do I carry around anything remotely close to a sculpted body, but I have managed to maintain my weight over the years by vaguely watching what I'm popping into my mouth and staying fairly active.

Regardless, our impending wedding has had me trying to trim down a bit and tone up. My friend Lisa, who, in her mid-40s, has a supermodel body, told me many years ago that the key to a great body as we get older is no carbs after noon and 30 minutes a day on weights.

I haven't tried the carb thing, but I am amazed at what a difference weight training can make in your physique at only 20-25 minutes, five times a week.

One of my co-workers introduced me to the 10 Years Thinner workout from Health Magazine a few months ago. You can find the workout here. I admittedly haven't added in the diet portion just because it would be virtually impossible with my eating schedule, but the workout alone has shaved off five pounds and several inches, bringing me down a full clothing size.

I imagine that if someone were able to strictly adhere to this, it may get her down that last 10 or 15 pounds, so I thought it was too great not to share, especially if there's anyone else out there trying to wiggle into a wedding dress.

Amy L. Schubert is a 15-year veteran of the hospitality industry and has worked in every aspect of bar and restaurant operations. A graduate of Marquette University (B.A.-Writing Intensive English, 1997) and UW-Milwaukee (M.A.-Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Writing, 2001), Amy still occasionally moonlights as a guest bartender and she mixes a mean martini.

The restaurant business seems to be in Amy’s blood, and she prides herself in researching and experimenting with culinary combinations and cooking techniques in her own kitchen as well as in friends’ restaurants. Both she and her husband, Scott, are avid cooks and “wine heads,” and love to entertain friends, family and neighbors as frequently as possible.

Amy and Scott live with their boys, Alex and Nick, in Bay View, where they are all very active in the community. Amy finds great pleasure in sharing her knowledge and passions for food and writing in her contributions to OnMilwaukee.com.