lindata

Kat - you're a wonderful person! Thanks for listening. For people who think it's mandatory to vaccinate - I'm not sure about ALL the states, but in most states you can get exemption forms. You are legally within your rights to do so. As for the risks due to not vaccinating, does anyone have any actual percentages or are you just going by what your doc told you? Have you really investigated this? If so, what is your data? I'd like to read it. (I'm not being sarcastic, by the way, I really would like to read it - I am open to both sides, as I am on the fence myself). The other thing is my kid was breastfed for 8 months, eats a totally organic diet, gets plenty of fresh air and exercise every day, sleeps on an organic natural rubber mattress, never eats or drinks off of plastic, and the list goes on, so he's pretty darn healthy. I'm guessing his immune system is probably a heck of a lot better than most which is going to help him tremendously. Gadgetlady - he's up to date for 18 months (but he's 4 now). So he's had most of them, but not all the boosters. Would you mind pm'ing me about this? I'm open to partial vac's too. But I am very concerned about the side effects. I've joined quite a few yahoo groups on this, these are real parents with real kids who have real symptoms - and it's not just autism either. Guess what? It's not just kids either - adults get side effects too, and the side effects vary widely. When it comes to the pharmaceutical industry (big bucks), and the government, versus real parents with real kids, I'll vote for the parents and what they have to say every time, hands down. I believe them. So when I log on to these groups and hear their horror stories, it's just too much for me. I can't imagine jabbing my kid in the hopes it will prevent some illness from happening, when that illness is pretty remote, and even if he does get certain illnesses it will be lifelong immunity versus limited immunity with the vac's. Oh heck, it's a long, long story. If you've truly investigated the pro's and con's you'll know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, I really don't need your advice. No offence, but I'm interested in the people who have read the studies, read the books, know their stuff, not the ones who just make broad generalizations and think they're right because "their doc told them it's safe, so it's safe." Not. Okay, big breath. Sorry to vent. I'm not meaning to take it out on anyone. Like I said, I am interested in both sides - if you've done your homework.

Molly, that is really weird that you had to sign papers saying you would vaccinate. I know that it's our right to refuse them (although according to the docs and schools, etc, etc, they make it seem as though we have no rights in this regard). I just don't know what to do, guys. I've read the books, I've asked people, I know the pros and cons. I'm so scared to stick him with a needle and it will be the "tipping point" that makes him regress into some kind of syndrome or another. I'm on a yahoo group right now that scares me senseless into definitely NOT vaccinating. Everyone says I have to look into this myself and decide. But it's hard (big whine going on here). Nothing is conclusive. Vaccinate and your kid can get some kind of awful syndrome or disease, don't vaccinate and the same can happen .... I'm paralyzed with fear. I walk around in a daze thinking about this and I get the shakes.

Yeah Bandpal!!

Molly girl, I feel your pain. While some of us are kicking butt (Hollyberries, you rock, girl!!!), some of us (ahem, me!) don't lose as fast for whatever our reasons. Would you have lost what you have without the band? I know I would still be gaining. So I'm a slow loser, so what? You WILL get there. Make a decision to take it one day at a time. Don't look at the long haul, take it a day at a time. Eat as good as you can today, exercise as much as you can today. Worry about tomorrow tomorrow. I'm doing great for me and you're doing great for you!!

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On ME? Oh, no you don't! That's not a challenge or anything, is it? hmmm?

Oh darn, I was going to make a suggestion but you've already ordered. I'll put it in anyway. There's a store where I live that do candy gift baskets. It looks like a bouquet of flowers, but it's different kinds of candies on a stick made to look like flowers. Kinda neat.

Geez, steph, you were my new superhero with a 58 percent loss! :smile2:

Way to go you two! Steph, was this what you were hinting at the other day, that you wouldn't tell anyone until you were sure? I love hearing this kind of news! It's very exciting to hear all these positive changes in everyone

The exercise shorts I used to wear (the tight, stretchy kind), are loose on me. They were tight and stretchy and now too loose!!! Tight and stretchy! Like a bathing suit!

We know that environmental health is important to you, so here is a Monday Tip to share with your friends. We had guests over this weekend and I asked them to please remove their shoes before coming in. They gave me a puzzled look, so I explained that 85% of the dirt in homes is tracked in on the soles of our shoes! And according to the EPA's "Doormat Study," virtually all lead dust inside homes is caused by lead-contaminated soil from outside. One of the easiest ways you can prevent this dirt (along with the lead, chemicals, bacteria, feces, pesticides, allergenic dust, animal dander, and other pollutants) is the simple of act of taking your shoes off at the door. With a new baby at home, I wasn't going to take any preventable risks. This is from Healthy Child Healthy World e-newsletter

Bunko is fun! That's how I met a few friends where I'm living. Fairyfacade - no offence to you, or anything, really! But I hate the word anti-social. I'm a strong introvert too and it's taken quite a lot of gumption on my part to even try to make friends here (we have just moved away from our family, and with a small son I do need SOME kind of social activity). There really is nothing wrong with having no friends or just a few, and it's not anti-social, it's just being an introvert. You can probably stop making excuses for your dh and tell everyone he likes to be by himself. There's nothing wrong with that! I'd love to be by myself except having a 4 year old kid is very lonely when you're just playing with him all day. If I didn't have him I'd gladly be a hermit in my house, read my books, watch my movies, play in my garden, and be very, very happy. A book that's really helped me with this is Raising Your Spirited Child. I got it for my son but it has helped explain a lot of MY behavior as well - it talks about introverts and extroverts, what makes them tick, and why they act the way they do. Linda

Kuchie, I'm so glad you're getting a renewed sense of ... what is it ... optimism, encouragement, hope. I was where you were too. What it took for me was a trip to see my friend for a week who took me to the gym, got me eating good food again. Now I'm losing again, thank goodness. I don't lose fast, but I am losing. You got to shake it up a bit. Do something you haven't done before. Get out of your comfort zone and surprise yourself. I completely shocked myself by going to a gym - something I NEVER thought I'd do ... and it's actually not bad at all! And dh does NOT need his snack foods, especially if he's trying to support you. Ask him nicely, but firmly, to get rid of it or you will. It's not fair for you to stare at that stuff in your house. If he needs it, he can buy it and have it at his workplace. It sounds like a few of us are going through/have been in the slumps. I think it's because the high of being banded is wearing off and we're at the point where we're realizing uh oh, I actually have to do some work to lose weight! I was in total denial about this, thinking I could just eat less. No way man, I got to exercise too. Not fair! But it's the only way to do it. Keep us updated! Linda

I'm so glad it's one of us on there, a real live LBTer. Way to go boo boo. You're looking hot!

I can't believe what's happening to me. I have broken a pattern that was totally out of control, that was making me miserable, ruining my life and which I was convinced was going to kill me.I'm so glad that I was willing to take the risk, and that I had people around to support me. In the space of five months – hey, I just realized, five month banding anniversary was the day before yesterday, congratulations on month number 5, everyone – my life has changed. Amen to that! I believe food would have eventually killed me too. I was heading straight for a heart attack. Thank goodness for the band and good friends! Shortgal - I'm still looking for the right amount of restriction too. Some days I can eat and not have to chew much. Then I'll have a day where I'm used to that, then realize I'm more restricted that day, and I start sliming what I ate. It's quite frustrating. I never know how I'm going to react. And when I get hungry, I just eat and don't stop to think about taking small bites. I also over-order when I'm hungry. Instead of ordering one small thing, I order two, then rush to eat the first bite, start sliming, then can't finish ANY of my order. urgh! But I never, ever, ever would have lost this weight without the band. I know that for a fact. I'm so thankful that I've got it. Anybody else notice that Hollyberries has lost almost 100 POUNDS!!!! OMG HOLLYBERRIES!! YOU ROCK!

My turn, my turn. So after two months of not doing much in the area of weightloss, and thanks to everyone here and a few other friends kicking my butt, my weightloss has started again. I'm going to the gym (gasp!, not the gym!) and running on the treadmill and doing the weights there on the machines. Today I ran for 15 minutes, walk break, and another ten minutes in a row! In a ROW! That's pretty major for me. It was at 12.43 minutes/mile. I actually ran over two miles!! Well, enough bragging. Who's next.

Everyone says how easy junk food goes down. I've got a reaaaallly stupid question. If I eat "good" food I can only eat the amount I'm technically supposed to eat - like 1/4 to 1/2 cup or so. BUT if I eat junk food, I can eat waaaay more volume. Anyone experience this? Is this what is meant by junk food goes down easy?

Okay, that was weird. The above I had actually typed (without spaces) www. natural news . com and www. mercola . com . I don't know why it came up with those big long sentences. It did that automatically.

Hey Kendra, I read that 1000 milligrams of ginseng/day (or more) can help cancer patients with increased energy, vitality, and improvement in emotional, mental, physical and spiritual well-being. I got this from an e-newsletter I receive regularly. I highly recommend it. It's called Independent news on natural health, nutrition and more and you can subscribe for free. I get lotsa good stuff for health off of there. The other one I like is Natural Health Information Articles and Health Newsletter by Dr. Joseph Mercola Linda

shortgal - yes, I did. I went to my friend's house for a week vacation and she was really watching her weight and exercising, so I kicked the junk food habit and went to the gym with her. I have been avoiding gyms, just working out at home, but now I've got the confidence to go and know I don't look like a fool. Linda

Annie, it sounds like you're similar to me - a few good friends, not a LOT of acquaintances. I like books, so joining book clubs was good for me. Like everyone said - find something you're interested in and go join a team/group/meeting. One tip - don't make friends with the people who think going out to eat is a great outing, or getting together to eat and talk, etc. That will defeat the purpose!

Name..............Start...........Current.................Goal........ To Go Lizzie_07.........233...............228.5.....................220 ..........8.5 Osangriared.....252...............249.5.....................232 ..........19 Skinny_Jill.......180...............176.....................168....... .....8 Sades.............197...............197.....................185....... .....12 kandiceb..........187...............178.....................175....... ....03 shortgal............183..............177....................175....... .....2 TxArcher..........328..............318......................308....... ....10 Peaches11........217..............208.....................199......... .10 Momto1plus1.....223..............217.2..................210........... 7.2 zippykat...........173..............167.....................160....... ...7 Trixie...............219.5...........209.....................199...... ....10 wnt2lose..........219..............213.6.....................209...... ..4.6 plump_princess....215.............209.....................199........1 0 Mariegabrieleee....250............250......................239........ 11 Foofy..............239.5............237.5...................230....... .7.5 Shalee04..........196..............189......................185....... .4 Hollyberries......267...............262......................254...... .8 CindyG............215...............212......................199...... ..13 MollyBrown......258...............253.......................245....... ..8 lindata............189?.............185.......................180..........5 How weird, I thought my name was on this list. Thus the question mark after 189. I'm pretty sure that's where I started at. And I made it to my goal of 185! Yeah! :rolleyes2: So I've updated it to 180. Linda

Yes, this is very true. I thought hmm, I'm going to pay thousands of dollars, I'm NOT going to screw it up. Well, it doesn't work that way. I still screwed up, but hopefully caught it in time. It's interesting that even being within the calorie range, you can't lose with junk food. I found this too on previous weight loss attempts. For sure on WW it never worked. I always counted points, but if it was points with junk food I wouldn't lose. I know FOR SURE anything with aspartame stops me from losing weight. I gleaned that from my own "experiments." Interestingly enough, I've read a lot of articles recently on aspartame linked with NOT being able to lose weight. Which really kinda sucks since aspartame is in so many low-cal things. The "normal" feeling ... I keep saying this, but I'm glad I'm not the only one. I've reached the point of weight complacency, the weight I've been at for most of my adult life, and the weight I know and am comfortable at. I read all the posts (not on the November Nymphs site, of course!) about how people eat junk, can't seem to stop, and are humiliated and berated about it by other LBTers. I'm glad I can talk here (with the Nymphs!) and not feel that way. If you guys have those opinions, at least you keep them to yourselves! :tongue: Thank you THANK YOU for letting me rant, vent, rage about this and all the while being supportive and encouraging. Linda

Hey Kendra. I've just finished a book on juicing Juicing Therapy by Dr. Jensen. This guy wrote this book at like 91 years of age and he's still going strong. It had some wonderful things in it about ingredients that fight cancer. The important thing is to juice veggies and fruits while they're fresh. In other words, just buying juice already made doesn't have the life qualities in it really anymore. The best things for cancer were fresh: Carrot juice parsley wheat grass "Wheat grass is one of the finest health builders I know. Wheat grass is high in indole, which helps prevent cancer ..." "It contains an enzyme P4D1 that stimulates DNA repair if it has been damaged by chemicals. Wheat grass contains the enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) which neutralizes the worst free radicals (superoxides) and protects from cancer." And it goes on. selenium folic acid It was a pretty dry book - definitely not good hospital reading! I'm sure there are some juicing books with sections specifically on fighting disease and cancer. I would suggest looking into this more. He said some really amazing things in his book about reversing disease, etc, with adding juicing into your diet. Not replacing your diet, but adding juices in. The most important thing is that the ingredients are super fresh and organic. It's super easy to find organic carrots. They're probably even in Wal Mart. I know they're in Kroger where I'm at. Anyway, the carrot juice especially (or half carrot juice/half wheat grass and parsley) would probably do wonders for you. This was taken a bit to the extreme, but one person he mentioned went on carrot juice for a year (just juice) and his cancer went away ... I hope this helps you! Linda

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power. Alan Cohen