Oh TREKaren I would love to take riding lessons again but when I did I would be scared sick until I was on the horse and then would be OK when the instructor told me what to do. I was thrown off once (my horse) and hit my tailbone and was in pain a long time. Another time I dropped a rein (another horse of mine) and the horse took off and I fell off and that was about the time I quit buying horses. I bought 2 ponies and carts and thought that would be safer and for me it was but then I met a man whose pony took him and a cart over a stone fence and he had the nastiest broken arm I ever saw. I miss my ponies - it was fun taking them in parades. One of my proudest moments was when the instructor pulled everyone into the center of the ring except me and the chestnut mare I was riding. Then she told the others to watch me posting because it was absolutely perfect. Oh my about the Blues poo. *G* Pam I read very fast - I wish I could sew! Thanks for the book recommendation Tikanas. Both sound interesting. I was a weird kid (no comments - lol) and would read biographies. If it's not true it seems like a waste of time to me. If you want a good sleep read the diaries of Lewis and Clark. Knocks me right out. Hmm maybe it's time to read it again. Dee Marie good for you figuring out what works for you. That is the secret to living on a diet isn't it? I guess I have dropped a little weight since last Friday but when I am 100% I usually lose between 3-4 pounds. Would be pushing if I lost half that this week. No patience... I am heading out of town tomorrow-Monday. My calorie count book is going in the truck too. New mattress and box springs delivered today! Whoohoo! I am famous for finding everything barely used but the king size bed set never appeared and I have looked for 2 years. So this is a belated Christmas gift to us. Bye all - talk to you Monday Kathy

lydia -- the 100+ food Elisa test sounds very interesting. I may give that a try, eventually. I'm convinced that I have quite a few food allergies. I used to throw up when I was given white milk as a child. Never drank any once my mother figured out the cause. Except in elementary school when I was forced by a teacher and I threw up. Funny how I was able to drink chocolate milk, though. I read later (as an adult) that in fact the chocolate in chocolate milk reduces the allergic reaction. Anyway, regarding food allergies, I know I'm sensitive to wheat though I'm not a celiac. I am also sensitive to dairy. (Ask me why I can't give up my goatsmilk yoghurt, this is the last frontier for me, hope to give it up eventually.) I subscribed to the test at http://www.enterolab.com/ which is where I got the results about wheat and dairly. The test was expensive. I think over $300.00. Glad I did it though. Sounds like the Elisa test may give you the same results plus some. This food allergy thing is tricky, I think. One of our dogs now it seems has food allergies. I asked the vet to test and she said that testing for food allergies is not very reliable (for dogs). I wonder if this is true for humans? A food elimination diet was the only thing she could recommend plus eating only a particular type of dog food that was "engineered to have a small enough molecule size so it doesn't trigger the allergic reactions" (her words). I was amazed and am wondering if raw food has "smaller molecules" than cooked food, HA, HA. Perhaps moite's methods that she got from her doctor about measuring her pulse rate may be the best way. I'm going the simple route with this raw food diet (for now) because it meets many other needs also. I had a great day yesterday. I went the whole day without the "wave of tiredness" that comes over me every day after lunch. I hope it wasn't an anomaly. Bad news is that with the raw food diet, there is a "detox phase" initially where some claim that you are ridding your system of toxins. The detox phase can produce acne which is what I just got yesterday. I haven't had a pimple on my face for many years but I have two now. Oh well. If my energy level stays good, I'll have to add that as one more reason why I'm glad I found this diet. I was craving cooked food day before yesterday but managed to get by without it. Hopefully those days will get less in number. This was kind of like craving a cigarette after quitting, as I remember it many years ago. Keep us posted about your food allergies. I'm becoming more and more convinced that for some of us, they are literally killing us or are reducing our quality of life (for some of us) to a very very large extent producing chronic problems and diseases that mainstream medicine doesn't have a clue. In my case, I definitely feel like I've become a guinea pig for trying out different "cures". I'm hoping that raw food will by my answer. I realize that because there is no definite proof, I could be wrong on this but as my DH says, it's gotta be better than being so overweight and hungry all the time. We were killing ourselves eating cooked food so how could this be any worse.

1) When you're hungry and wanting a snack, are you more likely to crave a sweet or salty/spicy snack? if it's the daytime, something salty/spicy... late at night after dinner, then usually something sweet. 2) The 3 junk-type foods that are hardest for you to resist: doritos LOVE tostitos with either a good con queso dip or guacomole-i can eat many calories with those! chewy candy--swedish fish, twizzlers, gummy lifesaves, etc. or peppermint patties. 3) Complete the following sentence: Do NOT bring any ________ into this house, because I can (will?) personally eat all of it . . . or at least waaay too much! i'm really good if it's in the house UNOPENED! lol. i usually can resist opening something, but once it's open, forget it-usually doritos, etc. 4) Although you may not eat at fast food restaurants a lot, what are your 3 favorite yummy-but-not-very-good-for you foods and from where? i really hardly ever eat fast food, but if i do i tend to order the 'wraps'... mcdonalds have them and wendy's have the chicken caeser wraps which i'll eat. i'm not big into burgers and only like the fries if they're HOT and CRISPY, which is often so hit and miss that i don't bother! 5) At nicer restaurants, what 2 or 3 foods do you have to force yourself not to order? i'll often pass on the french onion soup and choose something healthier even though i LOVE a good french onion soup crock with melted cheese and crusty bread!! i love all pastas, but will steer away sometimes to order something lighter. i love a really good carrot cake and if i see someplace has one that looks REALLY good, it's hard to pass! 6) Favorite comfort foods at home that are (sigh!) yummy but fat and/or calories-wise not that great for you or your waistline? i love making/eating pasta carbonara, but only do so occasionally. love creamy soups---buying fat free half and half makes me feels better but they still often have butter...(currently have broccoli and cheese soup leftover in the fridge--YUM!!) LOVE fruit pies/cobblers. 7) Favorite drink that you wish was "no calorie"? sweet drinks like margaritas sweet wines, like white zinfandel-love it! love chocolate coffee creamers---would be great if they were 0 calorie and still tasted great!! 8) What are 3 of your favorite "more healthful foods" to (try and) fall back on when the cravings hit? i guess popcorn is better than chips, but i usually don't really fall back on it... i buy those mini flavored rice cakes and feel better about those! i often will order fish or salad in restaurants- to either avoid fat or increase my veggie consumption! will order sorbet at the end of a meal when i'm really craving a dessert, but don't want the calories. 9) Favorite more healthful drinks? peppermint tea (with honey), icewater.

The funny thing about my vet - he was reluctant at first to even mention a raw diet. He spent a good long time with me & Tucker when I brought him home from a shelter and we were about 20 minutes onto the visit when we started discussing the pet food recalls which had just occurred at the time. That's when he recommended the holistic pet store in my town - nothing on her shelves has ever been recalled. She also sells the Natural Balance Raw Food line, which I did try but that is definitely pricey. Then, when I asked him what he feeds his own pets, he admitted that he was a cat person and said in a very low voice "but if I had a dog I would feed him raw bones and meat". It was as if he didn't want to be overheard! I guess the rest of the folks that work there don't agree with his philosophy. The phosphorus to calcium ration makes sense, as that will affect the contractility of the heart. Tucker is due for a physical in March so I'll have the first blood panel done then. He can be a gulper at times - I've had to reach down his throat to pull out pieces of beef hide dental chews that were too big to swallow - so I'll watch him carefully with the turkey necks. So far he's been doing great with the chicken legs and beef marrow bone. As for the ground meat & veggie patties, they disappear almost as soon as they go in the bowl. He really took to it quite naturally. He's been following me around like crazy since I started doing this and has a new found respect for me I think :) The only thing I don't like, is when I give him a piece of meat, he takes it into the living room to eat it, which means I'm cleaning & disenfecting the carpet daily. The other funny change, is that when he is eating a piece of meat on the bone, he is very protective of it. He will let me or DH take it out of his mouth, but if one of the cats gets too close, he barks and gives them a warning sneer - which is really funny because at baseline he is very submissive, particularly with the cats whe tend to walk all over him - they can even drink right out of his bowl while he's eating kibble!