Fattofit, Isn't that interesting. My 40th hs reunion was this year but we went to my DH's 35th veterinary school reunion instead. He graduated from Kansas State and we are originally from NE but we now live in WI. Your friends experience was very interesting. I've often heard the question put, "Why aren't we watching how thin people eat to learn how to stay thin?"

I was just re-reading my posts to add to my blog when I saw this, sorry for the really late response. I do free weights since I so a DVD. I think if you can do weights you should even if it is only 15 min and you modify to make it work for you. Between my regular cardio and the weight my little aches and pains seem to go away when when i do it consistently. I love it because there isn't alot of bouncing around and I can do it slow and concentrate. I started out with 3lbs and now I have a set ranging from 5-12. Even just standing for a while has gotten easier. If you're not into the weights you might want to try yoga or pilates. If you're into DVDs I would recommend the prevention fitness since they always have a beginner modification which was good for me since I was clueless when I was starting out.

LOL, there is alot of grumbling and talking about at the screen, but it makes it worth it when I don't have any knee or back pain. And being completely shallow I can finally shop at more than 3 stores. I am a little overwhelmed that this might be going on for the rest of my life, but I can live with this versus where i was.

That is great, Obi -
My big problem (and this goes for work, personal, home, etc.) is that I keep feeling the need to do only 3 things a day instead of 167 like I am "supposed to." So I don't get exercise in.

I've been looking at a book called Beyond Chocolate from the UK and so far can't get it here in the US. The shipping from there is pretty high. Anyway, they have a website and you can get a free monthly newsletter about IE if you google those words.

Here is an excerpt from the free Beyond Chocolate newsletter.

When was the last time you had a craving for chocolate but settled for a 'healthy' low calorie 'yoghurt dessert' concoction instead?

Well we have some fabulous news for you! According to recent research carried out by the University Hospital of Cologne in Germany, the effects of eating cocoa for two weeks on patients with high blood pressure are comparable to those achieved with blood pressure-lowering medications. The study concluded, "it appears reasonable to substitute phenol-rich cocoa products, such as dark chocolate, for other desserts or dairy products and is as part of dietary approaches to lower hypertension risk".

So next time you fancy a piece of chocolate make sure you grab a piece of the quality, dark stuff and enjoy!

Well that figures. Just my luck. I have high blood pressure and I don't even like chocolate. Oh, I don't absolutely hate it, but I don't get all excited about it. It's better than a couple of things I really do hate (strawberries and watermelon.) I could make myself eat it, like I do with flax seeds.

OK Carol - I got some fancy dark "zinfandel" chocolate today from a winery. It comes in a tin and is in little discs, so i can eat a couple of them every day and not have to unwrap a whole bar. It's not bad. I don't usually like sweet things and it's not that sweet.

Oh, Jo, those sound good. I wonder where else you can buy something like that. No winerys around here. ha! Had a great day yesterday. We went swimming with the kids and some friends and the pool even had a water slide. Ever since I went on the first water slide about 20 yr. ago I thought they were fun. I even took my granddaughter down who is just about 2. She loved it and wanted to go again and again. I slipped and went under once so then her dad took over. I was getting tired anyway. It was so hot and the water felt so good.

Carol - I just checked and these chocolates are sold online - search for Wine Lover's Chocolate. They are made by San Francisco Chocolate Factory.
Water slides are fun! I wish they had adult only hours. Unfortunately, unlike you, I don't like children. (I didn't even like them when I was one!)

Thanks for the tip, Jo. You don't have to be a kid to love water slides. ha! We have dozens of them near here in Wisconsin Dells.

Jo, I just googled them and found out you can get them on Amazon. Every once in awhile I order Wasa Crisp bread there and I always need something else to get it up to $20 so that I can get free shipping. This should be perfect!

That should have been $25!

Just received a new book called Un-Dieting...can't remember the author. There is an e-book by that name that I would really like to read but I just don't like sitting at the computer that long. I think the author of that one is Nancy Hill. Has anyone read the e-book by that name? She has a website I think because I have received some info from her a long time ago but not recently. She seems really inspirational.

I had a rough day IE wise yesterday. I had a good breakfast and a half a banana snack and then we went shopping. My daughter took longer than ususal in one store so that by the time we finished with grocery shopping we were really hungry......about 3:30pm. We always go to McDonald's drive threw........I love hamburgers and it's only once a week.......my one time not to cook. We got happy meals and a cone to split. By the time we finished the cone we were about 5 mi. away and I realized that they had given me nuggets instead of a hamburger. When we got home I just kept searching for something to satisfy my hunger......pretzels, a couple bites of stir fry, a couple oreos.........just couldn't find what I wanted and felt awful. Then I ate a really small dinner and woke at 4am and couldn't go back to sleep because of hunger. I think maybe the prednisone isn't helping again (just recently had to up it again) but I'm trying to get around it. I do a lot of cooking for a lot of people so my one time out a week was kind of disappointing. Hope today is better. It's my youngest daugher's 17th bday and my son is bringing up his boat to take her and the family on the Mississippi.