Oh man, I am so going barefoot! I've had pretty serious problems with my feet for the past few years. In particular, I've developed a morton's neuroma (inflamed nerve) and capsulitis (inflamed tendon) in the balls of both feet. They flared up seriously a few months ago, so I've been resting them (i.e. no running or using the elliptical trainer), always wearing comfy shoes with custom orthotics (including a metatarsal pad), icing or heating them almost every day -- since April. The day-to-day severe pain has subsided, but my feet feel uncomfortable nearly all the time. And if I try to resume normal activities, even just a bit, I get two weeks of pretty severe pain. So I'm happy to try something very different. As a kid, I used to run around the farm barefoot all the time. I think it's time to resume that.

Good post! Mark's criticisms are indeed spot-on -- and I'm definitely coming around to your "intermittent diet" way of eating. The Zone was my first introduction to "paleo"-type diets about ten years ago. It definitely helped me get my blood sugar under some control: mostly by eating more protein, I stopped crashing and burning as I had been doing on a regular basis. So in that respect, it was good. However, the allowed calories from carbs was simply way too high -- such it was easy to eat "in the Zone" while still eating tons of processed carbs, including sugars and grains. So I maintained my quasi-addiction to carbs on the diet. As a result, I achieved nothing like the results I've gotten over the past few months. It's frustrating to think that Sears understands so much, yet ultimately misses the boat so completely.

Thank you for your opposition to Amendment 48! You might be interested to read an issue paper recently published by the Coalition for Secular Government: "Amendment 48 Is Anti-Life: Why It Matters That a Fertilized Egg Is Not a Person" by Ari Armstrong and myself. It's available at: http://www.seculargovernment.us/docs/a48.pdf We discuss some of the serious implications of this proposed amendment, including its effects on the legality of abortion, birth control, and in vitro fertilization. And we offer a strong defense of abortion rights based on the biological facts of pregnancy. Diana Hsieh Founder, Coalition for Secular Government http://www.seculargovernment.us

Thank you for your opposition to Amendment 48! In answer to the comment by Kristi, polls from a few weeks ago show 40% (!!) of voters planning to vote for it. If it polls that high in November, it will be back again... and again... and in states other than Colorado. You might be interested to read an issue paper just published by the Coalition for Secular Government: "Amendment 48 Is Anti-Life: Why It Matters That a Fertilized Egg Is Not a Person" by Ari Armstrong and myself. It's available at: http://www.seculargovernment.us/docs/a48.pdf We discuss some of the serious implications of this proposed amendment, including its effects on the legality of abortion, birth control, and in vitro fertilization. And we offer a strong defense of abortion rights based on the biological facts of pregnancy. Diana Hsieh Founder, Coalition for Secular Government http://www.seculargovernment.us