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If your are having an asthma attack and you are out of your medication, drink two to four cups of strong, black coffee.The caffeine in the coffee may give you some relief until you can get your medication.

I started dieting in the 8th grade right after my uncle Merle told me that I looked fat as I was going out the door to my first school dance. Even though my Mother reminded me that Merle was only an uncle by marriage and therefore his opinion counted for nothing, the damage was done. Thus began a struggle that was to last fifty years.

Like so many American women dieting became a major obsession. It was so ingrained in my every day existence I thought it normal. About a year ago an old friend of thirty years and I were having lunch out. I was babbling away about whatever my latest diet “plan” was and she was trying to look attentive and polite. I always talked about my latest plan like it was the Holy Grail. I was sounding authoritative and very enthusiastic which is how I always sounded, I’m sure.

When I finished talking she let out a sigh, leaned forward earnestly, looked me right in the eye and said, “Do you realize that you’ve been on a diet every single minute since I’ve known you?” I protested weakly and made a joke about how much I might weigh if I wasn’t continually on a diet. Inwardly, I must admit, I was terribly embarrassed. In the days that followed I thought about that lunch and all the other lunches we had shared. She, the long suffering friend, had learned more about low carb, low fat, the cabbage soup diet, and too many others to mention, than she ever wanted to know. What a good friend!

After much talking to myself and agonizing over the decision I decided never to “diet” again. I know this sounds risky, hence the agonizing, but I knew I had to take this first step. It was hard to let go. What would I do with all of my free time? What would my Sister and I find to talk about? How much would I weigh at the end of 2006? It was all very scary but by the time New Year’s rolled around I had a plan. I vowed to exercise six days a week and to eat as healthy as I could. That’s it but there’s a little more to it. Don’t panic though. I didn’t give up my wine!

So I picked morning to exercise because if I don’t do it then it simply will not happen. I got on the treadmill for 20 to 30 minutes every Mon-Sat. Right after that I did floor exercises with weights for 20 minutes. With the year 2007 only three weeks away this is the analysis of how happy I am with the plan. I dropped about twenty pounds and wear a size smaller in pants with no elastic in the waist. Ok, these are not the dramatic results you so on television but for me, there are added benefits.

For the first time in fifty years I don’t judge my life by how much I weigh at any given moment. I’ve had to make very few sacrifices to accomplish these small goals. My friends and mate are glad I don’t talk about dieting all the time. My reading material has graduated to things far more interesting. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed eating my way through parties and buffets without guilt. I’ve found that my Sister and I have much more in common than our diet obsession. I could go on and on but what I’ve actually found feels like freedom and it is.

Exercise has set me FREE. I am determined to keep the exercise habit I’ve established this year. I think the physical and mental health benefits are enormous!

Copyright © 2006 B. Steele

B. Steele is a realtor in Nevada and a contributing editor for http://www.efy-online.com She has worn many hats during her career-mostly in sales of some kind. Among her work experiences she lists: retail fashion owner, restaurant owner, sales manager at a weekly newspaper, etc. She enjoys working with the public and training other sales people. Visit: Especially For You Online today!

In Part I of this series, I discussed some history on why women did not need to exercise 100 years ago and discussed the fact that exercise is actually good for you.

It is a universal fact that the most chosen time for most fat women to work out is in the evenings. If you can stick to work out in the evenings then it is well and good. But most fat women find ourselves exhausted in the evenings. We find ourselves physically and mentally drained. And at that time our bodies will be just too tired for a work out.

The result is that after the first few days of working out, despite good intentions, the interest just dwindles away. The other reason is that in the evenings a thousand and one things may crop up and then there is hardly time for a warm up. So it is best to set aside some time for exercise in the morning itself.

There are two advantages of setting apart time in the morning. The first advantage is that in the morning our bodies are fresh and full of energy. Now here I want to make one point clear.

There is a popular misconception that exercise depletes the body of energy but the case is just the opposite. Exercise pumps up more blood through the different parts of the body and warms up the body, so in fact, after exercise we feel more charged and ready to face the challenges of the day.

The second advantage is that in the morning we can plan for the whole day without letting the exercise routine affect the rest of our activities.

What about those of us who have never worked out before? In such cases you might need to start off under the personal supervision of an instructor and that may require that you go to a gym. But what I would suggest is that there are two simple things that any one can do for which you do not need the help of any instructor.

You know what these are? They are walking and swimming. Anybody can walk and those of you who know how to swim can swim. For these two activities you do not need much gear and experts say that these two exercises have no side effects and are excellent stress busters.

So in the morning wake up just half an hour earlier, put on your walking shoes and hit the roads. Most roads will be less crowded at this hour and less polluted too. It is a wonderful way to start a day.

Carol Mills is a free lance writer who specializes in over weight women and the issues they face; diet, exercise, debt reduction, and romance. She contributes on a regular basis to a blog about overweight women at www.female40fatflabby.com