mrm1453

Ditto the almonds, apple and PB. Balance bars make a great variety of protein/carb bars that won't spike your blood sugar, and you can eat them really fast when you're dragging. Other "energy" bars are candy in slight disguise, I tend to believe. These bars are cheapest at drugstore.com, I've found. Trader Joe's has all these big bulk bags of trail mixes and raw nuts and things for kind of cheap, and I get my favorites, package them into snack size ziploc baggies, and throw them in the snack drawer. They're awesome. Especially the peanut butter pretzel pillows. YuMmmmmmm. I'm still a student so I try to balance convenience with healthy with not-too-expensive. It is tricky at times. I try to make sure my snacks all have a good protein component. I never thought of the Ensure. I'll try it!

HAheehahahaha! I love your story! "tarted-up old lady"... that's hysterical. Thanks!

Interesting thread. I'm a Senior in NS, and I have always been interested in acupuncture and massage therapy for enhancing wellness. I ventured into more traditional territory last year though, when I began a self-directed fitness program at a local gym. How to get oneself to the gym after that 12 hour clinical and 1.5 commute? Well, I tend to arrange to go before the clinical/work session, because it's not happening after. When I was still in the first months of my big behavior change, I would force myself to lock all of my shower stuff (soap, shampoo, blow dryer, straightener, lotion) in my gym locker. That way, no go to gym, no shower. This reflected my attempt to inculcate myself with the concept that the gym IS NOT OPTIONAL. That it is just something I do most days.... Like showering! I read in some self-help book that it was a good strategy... and it certainly WAS effective. No excuses with that one. Now it's a year later, and I can't imagine a week without running! One year ago, I was all, "I can't run. I don't have the physique, and my knees hurt too much when I try." Now, I'm all, "I ran 20 miles this week. I still can't believe it, but I'm a runner now, and my knees stopped hurting when I did strength training for my leg muscles!" I certainly didn't believe it possible a year ago. Yippee! To anyone considering exercise programs in their busy lives, I can recommend keeping a "diary" of some sort. Mine was a piece of printer paper with a homemade calendar grid. I literally "gave myself a gold star" for every 30 min. I worked out. I don't do the gold stars anymore, but that calendar is still being kept current up there, keeping me honest and motivated about putting in the time. Best wishes all.

Thank you for the link. I had been meaning to learn more about this. My only comment at this point regards the "New Health Markets" entry on page 4. It seems pretty awesome that the government may be stepping up to offer a Medicare-like, comprehensive health insurance plan that individuals or employers can choose to buy if their current coverage is not as good or affordable. I hear from a lot of folks who support market competition, which sounds fine.... We should enhance the competition in the health insurance market by allowing our own government to organize a not-for-profit regional health plan system and let it out into the competitive fray... If people or employers end up liking the government plan, they can choose to buy it (likely a more affordable, comprehensive plan with full mental health benefits). I haven't been this excited about a plan proposal in many years. Thanks for stimulating discussion on this!