It may or may not be cortisol; I don't know. I do know I'm eating lots more carbs. Lots more. Teasing out how much of that is driven by hormones and how much self-talk or whatever would be difficult. Well, maybe we'll know soon, because I'm going to try to force the issue. Lower carbs, lower protein, keep running. We'll see what happens. Wish me luck!

Come to think of it, when I was a little girl, I loved to run. Only I called it trotting, cantering, and galloping because I was pretending to be a horse.

Fast forward to my 30s, I came to love running again. It was a great combo of solitude (those dawn runs through the neighborhood) and social life (meeting running friends at 10k races--they were mostly 10k then--and being in a club).

Now I love walking for fitness, and also for sightseeing. The changing seasons. The storefronts you never see driving by in a car. The architecture of houses and churches. The nature stuff you come across, like birds' nests and caterpillars. I live in the neighborhood of a museum, so I get outdoor art, too.

I sometimes wear light wrist weights, and often use my walking music tapes with the great beat. A couple of them were produced by Dr. Ken Cooper, the guy who coined the word "aerobics." I never get tired of the little pep talks at the beginning and end of the 30-minute segments.

I'm a big fan of Dr. Briffa, by the way.