WASHINGTON -- First lady Laura Bush recently walked with News4 reporter Barbara Harrison on the jogging track on the south lawn of the White House.

The first lady said fast-paced walks are a part of her regular fitness routine.

"This is a great place to walk and I have some friends who will come before work or on Saturday," she said. "Or I can walk with my dog."

The first lady said a 45-minute walk is her goal. She said she walked to school as a young girl, but was never athletic.

"I was never an athlete. I didn't take up a sport and I don't play tennis or golf," she said. "But then, when I married somebody who is a natural athlete, and is a runner and has been a runner the whole time we were married, I was shamed into starting to exercise."

And she said their daughters were encouraged from an early age to be physically active.

"George and I went to their soccer and the softball games when the girls were little and they now work out all the time," she said.

The first lady said sometimes she works out in the White House gym. She said the president will lift heavy weights, but she only lifts the little ones.

The first lady said, "I lift weights, and I mean little weights. Not like Dr. Rice. I saw her on your show where she had a huge weight on her shoulders."

She said she'll lift 3- to 5-pound weights, and at the very most, 8-pound weights.

"And weight lifting does increase your strength and it becomes really noticeable after you've done it for a while," she said.

So if you're wondering is that the secret of how Laura Bush is looking so fabulous these days? Bush said, "It took about four years of weight lifting to get there, so it's not anything fast, but I think that's part of it."

And the first lady said she really watches what she eats. She said once you really start working out or going for walks, then after a while it becomes easier and easier.

The first lady said she almost always eats oatmeal for breakfast with fruit and some almonds. She said that's good for lowering cholesterol.

At lunch she often has soup, and at dinner it's often meat and vegetables.

As for dessert, she said she doesn't touch it, but the president does, which is why he works out more.

How does the first lady keep her weight in check with all of the traveling and entertaining associated with her family's duties?

"Just take a little bit," she said. "I think the real secret, my mother now says, is 'You don't have to eat it all.' And she would say when I was growing up, 'Clean your plate.'

Along with all the walking she does, the first lady says eating healthy is a priority.

"I've always been interested in eating healthy food," she said. "I don't drink Coke or eat a lot of sugar or other things that are fattening."

The first lady said she has had trouble with her weight just like anyone else.

"I've always, at different times of my life, wanted to lose weight," she said. "I have to say I've never been particularly successful at dieting. But I do think that once you start exercising, it becomes easier. It becomes counterintuitive to overeat if you've just worked out."

Last year the first lady chose a new White House chef, who she said has changed the way she and the president eat.

"She fixes very healthy foods," the first lady said. "(She makes) fish a lot. A lot of vegetables. And she really watches to make sure the foods aren't really high in calories."

For more information on the President's Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards Program, visit PresidentsChallenge.org.