Hi Stuart,

  I'm a newbie here too.  Isn't Born to Run amazing!!  Anyway, I just started running barefoot in May and when I started, I couldn't walk to my mailbox barefoot either.  Definitely begin with being barefoot in the house, driving etc.  Stay away from the gravel for now, it is totally brutal!  Dirt roads are great, pavement is better since the texture gives you lots of feed back on exactly how your foot is contacting the ground.  Start with walking short distances, then move to running short distances.  Save your VFFs for gravel and going to stores/work/places that don't like barefooters.  Blisters are the pits because they hurt, BUT they heal fast and teach you a lot about form and scuffing.  You are on the right track!

  As for the 40 pounds, my husband lost 40 pounds recently by writing down everything he ate and looking it up online to see calories/fat/protein.  Just learning about what he was eating helped him to change his diet for the better.  That soda doesn't really seem worth it when you know how much exercise it takes to burn it off!!