There were 191 visitors yesterday at my site, but only 11 of you introduced yourselves. What do I have to do, bare my soul?? OK, here goes: I am 10 pounds overweight. Do you know a woman in real life who will discuss her weight with you?! In my endeavor to lose my last 10 pounds after the birth of baby #4, I’ve tried a myriad of things (except diet and exercise). So I’m always on the lookout for the latest gimmick.

Now, before I get to the latest secret I found, I have to tell you that I have tried diet and exercise. After the birth of baby #3, I found myself 40 pounds overweight. Drastic pounds called for drastic measures. For the first time in my life, I began exercising and watching what I ate (as I ate it). I did 3 miles of cardio exercise 5-6 days a week and alternated upper and lower body strength training 5 days a week. After a 1-2 hour workout, the diet part was easy. All you have to do is look at a cookie, and think, I ran 3 miles today, and it will all be for nothing if I eat that one measly cookie. Depressing, I know.

I dropped 25 pounds in the first three months and the remaining 15 pounds over the course of the following year. I hadn’t weighed that much since high school. As I’m sweating and wishing that the torture session would end, I kept thinking, Keep going, Amy, one day you’ll actually enjoy this. That day never came. Now, don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the way I felt; it was an awesome feeling. I even began to get good at what I was doing, and people stopped me all the time to ask me to share my secret. But, the exercise part was never anything short of torture.

So, without further chatter, here is the latest research on losing weight (that I ripped off from Donna who ripped it off Kate who ripped it off someone else):

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

Adios’, amigos!