@ Diane: it's a great way to not feel guilty over digging into the food
@ Paula: I'm glad it helped. I think the fact you have illnesses going on is a good indication that your immune system is compromised. Too much exercise and/or not enough food will do this. My knee jerk response has always been to overeat, but if fat loss is what you want, it is not giving much success.
Lifting heavy w/o doing metabolically expensive workouts (high reps or lots of balancing) don't tax the system as much and while it *seems* more boring, it is easier to keep calories in check. And for those of us, who do dig lifting heavy, it can be a real blessing.
Diane, just when I read Paula's blog this morning (off line) I thought about you.. why not do the same as Paula does and pick up Bill Star's 5x5 program. I'm not 100% familiar with it though, but Paula should be able to give the details, right?