Obesity Rehab?

So I haven't written in a couple of weeks, but I have been trying to catch up on as much reading as possible - although most of this reading has been in the form of magazines, since I have so many of those that I need to catch up on. I recently read an article from the March 1, 2010 edition of Time Magazine entitled: "Does Obesity Rehab for Kids Work?" This was an incredibly interesting article about a place where kids grades 8-12 can go for schooling and to lose weight. It's basically like a boarding school that costs almost $7000 a month (with a requirement being that a student be there at least 4 months) where students eat 3 square meals a day that are prepared fat free and equal no more than 1300 total calories for the day. The exercise and stretch in the morning and walk 10,000 steps a day (it is noted in the article that 10,000 steps is about 5 miles). Most students lose quite a bit of weight, but once they go home is the real challenge because you don't have someone preparing your food for you and you have to have willpower to continue the changes that you have made in your life. This got me thinking - if there is a place where kids can go to get healthier, shouldn't there be some place like that for adults as well? It seems like these days that most of Americans are overweight or obese, and there is only a small majority who can afford to send their kids to this school. Shouldn't there be an affordable place for adults, kids, or families to get healthy together? Let me know if you have any ideas on this...

I have been struggling with my own attempt at getting healthy. I was doing okay for a while. About two weeks ago, I started lifting 5 lb hand weights for weight training (I started with those weights because I have not lifted weights in a very long time and I don't want to do too much too fast. Plus, I've heard that in order to tone muscles, it's better to do more reps at less weight) and alternating that with walking about 30-40 mins. I would do one or the other every day, usually alternating them as weight training on Mon, walking on Tue, weight training on wed, etc. I did good, for a whole week, which for me is a tiny celebration in and of itself. Last week did not go as well. I had a doctor's appointment on Monday - which was fine because I took my walk when I got home. I had another doctor's appointment on Tuesday in which I had blood taken from my right hand and a shot in my upper left shoulder, which not only stung, but made my muscle feel incredibly sore. I was supposed to life weights that day, but with my sore arm, I figured it would be better to not do that. I could have taken a walk instead, but of course, I didn't. The next day, I took my scheduled walk as usual and then lifted weights the next day as usual. I thought to myself that I was getting back on track, only to not exercise at all for the rest of the week, unless you could going up and down three flights of stairs exercising. Today, I should go for a walk - I know that it is something that I need to do and my boyfriend has even said he would go with me. But my mood is completely depleted -- I'm just not in a great mood at all today. I know that I should take a walk and maybe I will muster up the energy to do so. We'll have to wait and see.

Now as for my answer to last weeks question: Do you collect anything? If so, describe you favorite collection, past or present.

Answer: I used to collect beanie babies. They were these little stuffed animals that were stuffed with beans. I had a ton of them -- I was constantly looking for them and they were pretty popular there for a while. I still think that I have a few of the most rare ones. Something that I think I collect now are blankets -- I love blankets because I feel that you can never have enough of them, much like my collection of books, which I guess is another thing that you could say that I collect.

My question for you this week is: What is the legal drinking age where you live? Do you think it should be higher, lower, or remain the same and why?

Peace and Love