After I finished reading it - I'm talking a day after - I saw the A&E/BBC version with Colin Firth. Fantastic :D! Highly recommended. Very true to the story.

Okay, that's good to know :). I thought so also. She looks very athletic and it can't possibly all be from swimming. Thank you. :D Thanks so much. :) Thank you everyone. Your replies are so helpful and greatly appreciated. :D

Sherry, the only one I can think of is not a "she" but a "he". He's fabulous and yes, as far as I know, you can only get his DVDs from his site and yes, he's Canadian. Mark Laham. I have both of his DVDs. My former yoga instructor got me into these. - for all those yoga avoiders - who think anything yoga is weird. He's very mainstream and normal. :DThis is a scene from one of his DVDs. Both his yoga DVDs are my absolute favorites and I have lots of them! I feel so energized and my muscles feel so stretched. He's a great instructor and you really get your $'s worth with each DVD - about 3 separate workouts in each DVD. He knows his stuff. Plus, he's not annoying, like some exercise videos can be. The Power Yoga DVD has the following options: Warm Up Only (20 Minutes) - this is a good start to yoga in and of itself and later you can work up to the rest of the DVDs. There are 2 types of Warm Up - Beginner and Intense. Strengthen the Core - 60 Minutes Open the Hips- 65 Minutes The Yin Yoga DVD is one I really love. It has the following, each of which are pretty much an hour. Front Line Sequence Back Line Sequence Hips and Pelvis Hope this helped. :)

Xuzi, 5 miles is great! Hope you can get a new DVD player soon. Kari Anderson: Center Floor - 2nd chapter in this DVD - Full Body Mat Work - I like the music on this DVD Stretches, few weights, and a few yoga moves

Thanks, Stacia. I LOVE National Geographic and look forward to its arrival every month. I just finished reading last month's issue. :) Interesting stuff on cities, including this swimming pool in Singapore.

I've been adding a lot from all your lists to my wish list. This particular thread is my favorite of the entire year. :D

Thank you for this. Keeping this. We've seen many of them. :)

Excited for you and for all of us! :D Yes, it's a great company with fabulous service, prices, and shipping rates. I've never tried Powerfit but I've heard good things about them. :)

Thank you all so much. Yes. This is true. I've officially taken Kettlebells off. Very happy to do so. I may do stuff like Tae Bo or Jillian Michaels from time to time, but seldom. Thank you for this reminder. Boils down to common sense. :D Thank you. :) I wish this were true for me. Baked goods are the bane of my existence. :tongue_smilie: You raise some really interesting points. Thank you so much for your very kind encouragement. :) I have noticed from my own personal experience that when I've lifted heavy weights too often or done certain forms of exercise, I have bulked up quite a bit more. I haven't wanted to believe this, since I've also read time and time again how this is not possible since women don't produce enough testosterone, but that has not been my personal experience. :confused: I have a friend who did Leslie Sansone walks every day and bulked up in her lower body area. No other changes were made and she had trouble fitting into her jeans. I guess everyone is different and reacts differently to various forms of exercise. I'm quite sure that my body won't get lean and like a dancer's. I'm very curvy and there's no way I would ever look like a ballerina :lol:. But at least, it's a lower-impact form of exercise and might, just might, help me to not bulk up as much. Thanks for this reminder. I do this most of the time, but I have found that for very rigorous workouts and/or workouts that last longer than 45 minutes or an hour, I am still ravenous afterwards, regardless. Swimming does this to me big-time. Yet I love it and will continue to do it, just not as often as before. Yes, when I used to run (which I can no longer do), my lower body was in fabulous shape. When I focused on weights and resistance training, my upper body got rather bulky and I don't like it. I have pictures to prove it. Yes, me too. I need variety to prevent boredom, plus, I'd rather focus on various body parts and all the different benefits. Absolutely. Balance is key. Personally, I don't really care for her body. I guess I'm the lone dissenter here. To each her own. Her body is too extreme for me and just overly muscular. Appreciation for various body types can be so subjective. I do know that even if I were to swim for hours and hours a day, there's no way that I would ever look like her. Thank you all once again. :D I'm excited and feel motivated and am getting ready to make some positive changes.

By now, you should hopefully feel better. Lots of rest Chicken soup with tons of garlic - just lots and lots of garlic overall, to the point where no one wants to hang around you. Works for me every time. Vitamin D3 is known as the “antibiotic vitamin†At least 5000 IU daily through cold and flu season Remember with exposure to sunlight in the summer, the body can generate between 10,000 IU and 20,000 IU of vitamin D per hour with no ill effects. So if a germ is coming on, your body can easily handle 30,000 IU that day. Two 5,000 softgels in the morning, two more in the afternoon and two more in the evening are safe. Just think of it as if you spend the day in the sun and hopefully you can shut down the germ. When you feel like you’re getting sick, you can take: 10,000 IU 3 times per day for 3 days – 30,000 IU total for day 8,000 IU 3 times per day for 3 days – 24,000 IU total for day 6,000 IU 3 times per day for 3 days – 18,000 IU total for day 4,000 IU 3 times per day for 3 days – 12,000 IU total for day Back to normal intake of D3 – whether you normally take 2,000, 5,000, or whatever This is what we do and it works like a charm. :)

Tina, I'm slowly building up an Ellen collection and liking her a lot so far. :) I think it was Kleine Hexe who recommended her. Denise, yes, as Xuzi said, the more the merrier. :D Today, I did: Kari Anderson: Center Floor - there are 3 separate chapters. I did the first one - the Standing Floor Challenge - about 30 minutes - like this DVD so far. Lots of balance work, which I like to focus on as I get older. Reminder - very important for me :tongue_smilie:: Practice putting down your utensils between every few bites, describing to yourself the flavors and textures in your mouth.

This is on my wish list. My new rule/guideline: Check my long amazon wish list every morning with my green tea. When a book is very low (as in this morning, when a book dropped to $1.99), to grab it if I can. I'm embarrassed to list all the books I got. I console myself that we don't have a library here, so I have no choice. Many of these were recommended here on these forums. Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage - currently reading - good beauty and fitness tips, but otherwise, fluff reading, which I need at the moment. Lessons from the Mountain by the middle girl who was in The Waltons Garden Spell Let the Great World Spin The Sugar Queen Slaughterhouse Five Ella Minnow Pea Mary: Mrs. Lincoln Fair Game because I loved the movie Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons The Top Five Regrets of the Dying Fall of Giants The Thirty-Nine Steps Jane Eyre - will be a re-read The Hangman's Daughter Sold Five Conversations You Must Have with your Daughter Dear Fatty by Dawn French, whom dh and I really love :) Life Recipes From My Mother: Timeless Lessons for Living a Contented Life Prisoner of Our Thoughts When She Woke Murder in the Marais: An Aimee Leduc Investigation, Vol. 1 The 13th Hour The Rule of Four The Orchard: A Memoir

Their international shipping rates are really good. :)

Thanks for this important and much-needed reminder. :D Off to order. :)

Thank you so much for caring. :grouphug: He's slowly improving, but it'll take a while. The specialist never gave us a diagnosis or told us the cause or anything. Just said to rest and to allow time to pass. The GP had prescribed something, so he's on that. So it may be a mix of the Rx meds and rest that are helping him. It'll take a while. Thanks again. :)

I like Jari Love. I don't do her often enough, but probably should. Minimal chatter and great instruction. I really didn't think I'd like her and have been pleasantly surprised. Got two of her DVDs very cheap at Ross a few years ago. Ross and Suncoast often have great prices also. Depends on your taste and goals. DVDs can be so subjective. At this point in my life, I'm into low-impact - barre, pilates, yoga, stretching, some weights, and even some cardio - but nothing too loud, shouting, rudeness, attitude, or yelling, if you KWIM. ;) The great thing about this site is that you can view video clips and see if you like it or not. If I were to choose. Me personally ... I would pick (and I may very well get): Pick Your Level Weight Loss Pilates - because I really like Ellen Barrett :) Crunch: Pilates - I have this one and like it Crunch: Fat Burning Pilates Crunch: Cardio Sculpt Yoga Journal Step by Step - $1.99 Easy Pilates - $1.99 Gaiam Upper Body - $2.99 - there are others in this series - abs and lower body Weight Loss Cardio Sculpt Romana's Pilates Pilates Core Challenge Quickfix Pilates Abs Crunch Fat Burning Ab Attack My goodness! There are sooo many great ones - Leslie Sansone, Kari Anderson, Mari Winsor, Tracey Mallett, you name it ... I can't list them all.:D

Link to new thread here.

Kleine Hexe, I hope you don't mind my starting this thread. I know that you're busy with house guests and the holidays. I need this thread and the motivation, so I decided to start it, and again, hope that's okay. Today, I did: 5-Day Fit Trouble Zone Solutions - 30 minutes of yoga Tip/reminder for the day for those who may be interested: The more I have read and keep reading, the more I realize that waist measurement is KEY. As a good friend once wrote: "My goal is to get my waist under the 33" -- Everything I read leads me to believe that the most important factor for health is your waist size-- not an arbitrary number on a scale. In my reading I have discovered that the fat around your mid-section actually acts as an organ--secreting hormones and disrupting your health. It adheres to your internal organs. It is not good. That is what I want gone." Yep, me too! :D

fabulous sale if anyone's interested - I'm talking some are at $1.99! :D Go to the "Weekly Specials"

:iagree: Thermograms for me and no mammograms until 50 or over, and only if there's a good reason for one. I would rather do daily self-checks and be fully aware of what's going on. I have lots and lots of info on all this, but don't wish to overwhelm. If anyone is interested, I can post.

Laura, thank you for that very interesting link. This is what I've read. Thought to share. The association between D3 and MS is compelling Vitamin D helps normalize brain function. Its protective effects on nerve growth factors in the brain make it an ideal nutrient to use for either the prevention or treatment of MS. There are more people with MS who live in the low altitudes of Switzerland than in the high altitudes where UV rays are stronger. Almost no cases of MS can be found at the equator, but the further away you go, the more MS you find. Countries farther from the equator typically have higher MS rates. People with MS often have enough vitamin D to keep their bones healthy, but not enough to prevent the disease or reduce its symptoms Ask your doctor to check your vitamin D level quarterly. It should be at least 60 ng/mL. If you're under 60, take at least 2,000 IU per day. If you're 60 or over, take at least 5,000 IU per day of vitamin D3. Always take your vitamin D with a fat-containing meal to ensure absorption. Your need for vitamin D3 is affected by age, skin color, and the severity of any deficiency Don't be concerned that 2,000-5,000 IU will give you too much. The human body can make 10,000 IU of Vitamin D in 30 minutes of sun exposure – children included – with no ill effects. In addition, no adverse effects have been seen with supplemental vitamin D intakes up to 10,000 IU daily. To this day, medical textbooks mention the risk of vitamin D toxicity. Yet, the scientific literature suggests that toxicity occurs only with very large intakes of vitamin D over prolonged periods (more than 10,000 IUs daily for longer than 6 months). Except in people with disorders known as granulomatosis (such as sarcoidosis or tuberculosis), little risk (if any) is associated with vitamin D supplementation. Most people are deficient! • Body-mass index (BMI) and obesity • Older people • Dark-skinned people • Strict vegetarians • People with celiac, Crohn’s disease, and cystic fibrosis • Heredity • Certain medications • Regular use of sunscreen • Northern Latitudes (above that of Atlanta, Georgia) D3 in pill form is very poorly absorbed. Be sure to take the oil-filled gelatin capsules, and take them with a meal that contains fat to help with absorption. If you have your D3 levels tested and you’re low, you can go up to 10,000 IU per day for a couple of months, and then re-test to see if there's improvement. If you get your D3 levels tested, I think the ideal is to get them to levels of at least 60-70. If it turns out that your body just doesn't absorb vitamin D very well, you may wish to talk to your doctor about whether 30 minutes of daily sun exposure in warm weather or very short tanning sessions in cold weather would be appropriate.

Acupuncture has helped many with fatigue and balance problems Practice relaxation techniques Gentle forms of exercise like yoga and tai chi help. Just don’t overdo it. MS is a common symptom of a congested lymphatic system. Things that help to clear up the lymphatic system: • Rebounding (may not be possible or recommended - although there is a really nice-looking rebounding chair that I would love to have - expensive, but great) • Deep Breathing • Dry Body Brushing • Massage and/or Reflexology Trekking Poles – those that are commonly used for hiking – these help create a more natural gait Using these poles properly also strengthens core muscles If you’re toning your core, which is so important for balance, then you’re achieving bilateral stability From what others have posted here (I think): I've seen a number of people report having luck with an anti-inflammatory diet (such as paleo, GAPS, SCD, and things like that). http://www.nutrisclerosis.com/ has info on that. Try this website - it's very helpful. The guy who runs it has MS and has controlled it using natural therapies - he is a doctor too. http://www.overcomingmultiplesclerosis.org/ My friend has MS and has a website here. She talks about how she's never been on any medication for it and just recently watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead where two men cure their autoimmune disorders. I know once she found out she had MS (3 years ago when she was pregnant with her youngest) she did gluten free for awhile. She did cut out all MSG, HFCS, colorings, preservatives, etc from her diet. http://www.clairissacooper.com/?p=1380 Yes about the GAPS diet! My mom's friend just has been really careful all her life with lowfat foods and decent eating. I would say that I'd look at studies outside the US to see "other" choices. I'd also seriously go to a DR that has a good reputation in using Eastern Medicine. I'd investigate Acupuncture, too. I worked on a television series centered on alternative medicine. One of the profiles we did was on a woman with MS named Ann Sawyer. As a scientist (psychotherapist) Ms Sawyer delved into the literature when she was diagnosed. She found studies linking MS symptoms and diet. Building on the work of others and connecting a few dots she has postulated a link between some key "trigger foods," foods known to produce an immune response in people with many different illnesses. Among the problematic dietary items are gluten, eggs, dairy, legumes, and yeast. In addition to these common trigger foods she believes there are "individual trigger foods" that cause an immune response in some people but not others and one needs to know ones body to know when a food is a "trigger." Ann Sawyer has a book called "The MS Recovery Diet." In it she outlines in detail the science behind her beliefs, how an immune response physiologically leads to damage to the myelin sheath surrounding nerves and how this damage to myelin is what causes MS symptoms. She does not claim to "cure" MS. The diet simply aims at preventing the cascade of effects that comes with setting off an immune response, myelin damage, and MS symptoms. Ms Sawyer struck me as completely sincere. Both she and her co-author had very debilitating MS and were living close to normal lives. We spoke with others who claim there lives were turned around following the diet. Since the essence of this plan is to follow a type of "elimination diet" no one is making money selling you expensive supplements or treatments. I tend to be "skeptical" of alternative health claims, and I would urge you to do your own research. I can only say I was very impressed by Ann Sawyer and her story. And there seemed to be (from my limited perspective as a non-scientist) a well explained scientific basis for "why" some foods could cause an immune response and how that could lead to symptoms. I always thought if I had a loved one who came down with MS this is an approach I would urge then to consider. There is no real downside, other than the eliminations of some popular food ingredients from ones diet.

NUTRITION You will benefit from a gluten-free diet if you have: • An autoimmune condition like lupus, psoriasis, or rheumatoid arthritis • If you regularly experience 2 or more of the following symptoms: Abdominal Pain Gas and Bloating (especially after eating bread) Diarrhea Frequent heartburn Allover Weakness • Eliminate bread, pasta, barley, and rye • Read food labels to avoid sources of gluten: soy sauce, lunch meats, blue cheese. Google “avoid gluten†for a complete list. • Add more fresh fruits, vegetables, and rice to your diet. Anti-Inflammatory Diet EAT MORE Olive oil Rapeseed oil Oily fish twice a week (sardines, anchovies, mackerel, salmon) Omega-3 eggs Nuts Lambs’-ear salad Green vegetables Linseed or flaxseed oil Flax seeds Chia Seeds Ginger Fresh fruits and veggies – make sure you’re getting some of every color Turmeric LIMIT Reduce dietary sources of inflammation-promoting omega-6s: Red meat, especially if it is produced by industrial farming techniques and if it does not carry an “omega-3†label Dairy products Eggs not marked “omega-3†Sunflower oil Corn oil Safflower oil Soybean oil Sugar Processed and fast foods Dairy and gluten may trigger inflammation, so consider eliminating them for a few weeks Drink plenty of fluids

Here's some info that I have that may be of interest/help. MS SYMPTOMS Searing pain across one side of face Extreme fatigue Muscle weakness Blurred vision Loss of balance Poor coordination Numbness Muscle Pain Loss of mobility http://www.nmss.org SUPPLEMENTS Vitamin D3 The association between D3 and MS is compelling Vitamin D helps normalize brain function. Its protective effects on nerve growth factors in the brain make it an ideal nutrient to use for either the prevention or treatment of MS. There are more people with MS who live in the low altitudes of Switzerland than in the high altitudes where UV rays are stronger. Almost no cases of MS can be found at the equator, but the further away you go, the more MS you find. Countries farther from the equator typically have higher MS rates. People with MS often have enough vitamin D to keep their bones healthy, but not enough to prevent the disease or reduce its symptoms Ask your doctor to check your vitamin D level quarterly. It should be at least 60 ng/mL. If you're under 60, take at least 2,000 IU per day. If you're 60 or over, take at least 5,000 IU per day of vitamin D3. Your need for vitamin D3 is affected by age, skin color, and the severity of any deficiency Don't be concerned that 2,000-5,000 IU will give you too much. The human body can make 10,000 IU of Vitamin D in 30 minutes of sun exposure – children included – with no ill effects. In addition, no adverse effects have been seen with supplemental vitamin D intakes up to 10,000 IU daily. To this day, medical textbooks mention the risk of vitamin D toxicity. Yet, the scientific literature suggests that toxicity occurs only with very large intakes of vitamin D over prolonged periods (more than 10,000 IUs daily for longer than 6 months). Except in people with disorders known as granulomatosis (such as sarcoidosis or tuberculosis), little risk (if any) is associated with vitamin D supplementation. Most people are deficient! • Body-mass index (BMI) and obesity • Older people • Dark-skinned people • Strict vegetarians • People with celiac, Crohn’s disease, and cystic fibrosis • Heredity • Certain medications • Regular use of sunscreen • Northern Latitudes (above that of Atlanta, Georgia) D3 in pill form is very poorly absorbed. Be sure to take the oil-filled gelatin capsules, and take them with a meal that contains fat to help with absorption. If you have your D3 levels tested and you’re low, you can go up to 10,000 IU per day for a couple of months, and then re-test to see if there's improvement. If you get your D3 levels tested, I think the ideal is to get them to levels of at least 60-70. If it turns out that your body just doesn't absorb vitamin D very well, you may wish to talk to your doctor about whether 30 minutes of daily sun exposure in warm weather or very short tanning sessions in cold weather would be appropriate. Omega-3 supplements (3 grams daily – Carlson’s Fish Oil) Evening Primrose Oil (GLA) or from black currant seed and borage oils Take it on a full stomach in 2 divided doses, equally spaced during the day. Take up to 500 mg EPO 2-3 times daily or 2000 mg total daily Don’t use GLA if you take an antiseizure Rx. GLA supplements provide anti-inflammatory prostaglandins. These good fats also lower cholesterol and triglycerides, ease depression, reduce the risk of autoimmune disorders, and combat allergies. New Chapter’s Zyflamend is said to be a great supplement Probiotics help fight inflammation and bacteria in the gut Any probiotic you take should contain at least 1-5 billion colony-forming units (CFUs). Nature’s Way Primadoophilus Optima delivers more than 35-billion CFUs. Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics 12 PLUS Culturelle Nature’s Way Probifia Pearls Enzymatic Therapy Acidophilus Pearls Jarrow

Tina, I have lost weight, when I've replaced one meal a day with vegetable juice. I lost even more weight when I replaced 2 meals with juice. Both are hard to do, the former is easier, the latter can be quite difficult. I wish I could do this again. For some reason, I have a harder time sticking to such a plan now, but I think that I may take it up again. Typing this up is motivating me, especially after all the holiday indulgences. I try to juice daily or at least as often as possible. I juice veggies for the most part, and seldom juice fruits, since they say that too much fruit juice raises insulin levels. When making juices for our children, however, I add a little bit of fruit – usually an apple. Adding an apple or some grapes is also great for those who cannot stand the taste of veggie juices and are just starting out. Any good juicing book will give great recipes as well as all the benefits of various juices. My favorite one is Juicing for Life. There are many others, but that’s the one I have and like. I like to rotate my juicing recipes and vary the vegetables. As with any food, if you keep juicing the same veggies day after day, you may develop food sensitivities to them. Variety is important. My reasons for juicing: 1. I believe that regularity of and ease with bowel movements are probably amongst the most important measures of overall health. A healthy person should preferably have at least one bowel movement per day. Also, it should not be painful, take too long, or involve straining. Bowel movements should be easy. There should be very little time for magazine reading! I notice a huge difference in this area when we juice as opposed to when we don’t. 2. Juicing helps to detox the liver. The cleansing and health of the liver is essential to overall health. The liver has many important functions – mainly to clean the blood and to remove toxins and waste. 3. One of the most important measures of health is a well-balanced pH system – one that is just above neutral and slightly alkaline. Pretty much any disease and health disorder (ranging from acne, to the common cold, all the way to cancer), simply cannot survive in a system that is alkaline. Vegetable juices are great for alkalizing. A good friend of mine, who really knows her stuff about natural healing, once told me that maintaining a healthy pH balance and lymphasizing are the two best things one can do for overall health. 4. Most of us know that the more raw foods we can eat, the better. Juicing is a great way to do this. For those who reject juicing because of the lack of fiber, yes, of course fiber is essential. Most of us need even more fiber than we’re currently taking. To me, juicing is an excellent way to get even more nutrients than I would otherwise. When I see the amount of veggies that I juice, I know that it would be very, very difficult to eat all those veggies. I see juicing as an addition to a high-fiber diet. Besides, from what I understand, juicing removes mainly indigestible fiber, which your body cannot absorb anyway. The only downside of juicing is the amount of time it takes to prepare the veggies and to clean the juicer. The latter really and truly can be an absolute pain! But the benefits of juicing far outweigh this. After juicing, you should drink it within a few minutes, or the enzymes will be destroyed from exposure to air. Within 20 minutes the enzymes are all oxidized.