Leila

These sites have calculators that calculate approximately how much Water you need to stay hydrated. http://nutrition.about.com/library/blwatercalculator.htm http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/fitness/tools/hydration?from=fitloc http://www.hydracoach.com/calculation/index.html http://www.muscletech.com/CALCULATORS/WATER/Water_Calculator.shtml http://www.myhydration.com/calc.php http://www.bottledwater.org/public/hydratio_main.htm There's oodles of them out there, they all say about the same, I think, I only tested out a few of them.

Dena, beautiful and touching story, thank you for sharing it. It shows that we all make mistakes, and when we do we can not only learn something from them, but build something stronger and better than before. You may have married young the two of you, but it seems that together through your years not only have you grown in love, but in wisdom too. XO Leila

E) None of the above, I'm in an open/alternative marriage.

LOL - yeah, I caught the humour right off the bat.

To be able to go into any clothing store and buy clothes. Particularly to buy the cheongsung chinese dresses in china town I love so much. To be able to go back to kickboxing, and hopefully teach kickboxing again. To be able to feel strong and light, balanced, flexible and tall again, and not have so many aches and pains, fatigue and awkwardness. To be able to do the exercises on my pilates DVD's that right now my belly physically gets in the way of me doing. To not wonder when I'm in the checkout line of the grocery store, or eating out, whether people are judging me or what I am eating. To shave my head. I know, sounds weird. I love having a buzzed head, but I feel it looks weird on me when I'm overweight, I need my hair to balance out my body, other wise my head looks too small to me. When I hit 200lbs my reward is I'm shaving it all off again (the people in the hair loss thread would smack me I'm sure). To be healthy, to have my blood pressure go back to normal so I don't have to take medication for it anymore (around 215lbs is the magical number, over that I have high blood pressure, under it, I don't). To have my cholesterol normalize. To be able to take smaller doses of my anti-depressants because dosage is partly influenced by body weight. To be able to put on one of my hubby's sweaters in the winter time when he's not home, and have that feeling of being blanketed by it.

which book is that? There are a few out there, I've been thinking of getting one. Let me know how you like it.

Oh dear.. yeah, I wish I could stick to 18 pieces, a cup of those (8 ounces) would set me back over 1200 cals! I could easily put a cup of these away. I'm envious of you who have the willpower to keep to the small serving sizes of these things. I've even been known to eat the whole can of a can of nuts pre-band. Now I could only eat a cup, but before... eek!

You know, I've been reading this thread from the very beginning, and I'm so dying to join the soup train... My situation. We're travelling over Canada and the US in an RV, we've been travelling for 3 months now, and we're not going to be settling down any time soon. We've gone gypsy. The RV is small, just a 22 footer, with a small kitchen, small fridge, small stove, small cupboards.. you get the picture. I just don't have room to make and keep the soup, I'd have to cook only a days worth at a time!!!! argh! LOL, anyways. I've book marked the link to the diet, I keep reading the thread.. and one of these days... XO Leila

Well because obviously some people are still interested in having more information and experiences shared. I'd be happy to hear more both pro and con from people who have their own info, and other new opinions. I can't know whether what Jack has to say is a repeat of what's been said, or whether he has some new information to bring to the table until he's said it! I think as long as people are civil, avoid drama, and if you're tired of the topic and don't want to discuss it anymore - simple! unsubscribe from the thread, just don't read it! Then those of us who want to learn more and chat more can.

Interested! You can never have too much info, I find I'm always learning something new whenever anyone adds their own experiences to a situation. I'd love to hear what you learned directly in school.

Funny - (sorry for being a Junester sneaking into the July group!) - I bought these eggs in a carton - brand is Egg Creations - chive and cheese flavor, and a microwave egg poacher that cooks two eggs, I fill both sides for two eggs worth and microwave according to the egg poacher directions. Let it cool, and add half a tablespoon of low fat mayo and mash it all up. It makes a cups worth of mock egg salad. Only 70 calories including the calories from the mayo! Or sometimes I eat them hot with butter spray from out of the microwave, just 50 calories. I love how they taste, they're pure protien - no fat, plus lots of nutrients. - 60 percent of your daily recommended B-12, 40 percent of daily recommended vitamin A, etc, etc. I have some almost every day.

This book written by a Dr. claims chronic dehydration causes obesity, depression and cancer - [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0970245823/002-6746921-4982420?v=glance&n=283155]Amazon.com: Obesity Cancer & Depression: Their Common Cause & Natural Cure: F. Batmanghelidj: Books[/ame] Spooky huh? I really think years of drinking almost nothing but diet coke in my past directly affected my weight gain and my depression. I am feeling SO much better staying properly hydrated.

Melissa it sounds like you have restriction now. If you are full after such small servings, and losing weight, I wouldn't go for a fill.

You retain Water when you are dehydrated, when you drink a lot of water you don't retain water. It's the opposite way around. Hydration is necessary for your liver to metabolize fat properly, if you are not hydrated you can not burn as much fat - being well hydrated increases fat metabolism. You can tell if you're hydrated because your urine will be clear or very light in colour. Also you won't be thirsty, if you wait till you feel thirst, you're allready in a mild state of dehydration. Also being dehydrated or thirsty, even mildly will often feel like hunger to people.

Sounds like you are off to a great start for the week in your plans. I've been eating cherries and blueberries with no problems at all - just chew well and go slow.

http://www.weight-loss-program-101.com/weight-loss/lossing-weight/Water-How-Hydration-Helps-with-your-Fat-Loss-and-Workout-Routines.php

here's a related sleeping thread, might help give you more info too. http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=16005&highlight=sleep+side

My Dr. has them on a list of foods to avoid, simply because of calorie/fat content. I think if you can do them in moderation they are healthy, full of minerals, and even if high in fat, it's healthy fat. I thought I could do moderation, and found I can't. I'd been doing 5-6 nuts a day as a healthy treat, until a few days ago. Where I ate a cup of mixed nuts - 800 calories and 80 grams of fat. I need to stick around 1100-1400 calories a day, averaging 1200 a day over the week to lose, if I eat a cup of nuts, it doesn't leave many calories left over! Nuts are now off my own personal list. The exception - If a store that has bulk nuts in bins, I'll buy 5 or 6 nuts only, just to eat as a healthy treat that day.

I slept on my sides first night out, alternating from side to side during the night. I've always been a side sleeper. I found the most comfortable position for me for relieving gas was also laying on my left side. my left is my port side, and it would hurt a bit when I first settled on to it, but after the initial twinge, it felt great.

I'm a patient of Dr. Cobourn in Mississauga (even though I'm from BC) When I was in his office getting my first fill he had a Dr. from Ottawa come in to watch because he is training him to do fills. The Dr.'s wife and son are lapband patients of Dr. Cobourn. He will be doing fills in Ottawa as part of his own practice. Unfortunately I don't remember his name, but I'm sure if you call Dr. Cobourns surgical center (905-275-9283) and enquire they can refer you. XO Leila

I'd like to add my voice to yours 3loves. I am not a religious person, I do not believe in God. But that doesn't matter AT ALL in this case because the fact is Beachee Girl has faith, and faith for believers is a source of strength, support, love, and much more. I believe we should all use what tools we have to move towards health. I'm glad those that do share Beachee Girl's faith are able to encourage her and support her in the way that you are doing. Take care of yourself Beachee Girl! XO Leila

I love healthy food, and I love junk food, hell, I love all food! LOL. I do find though that if I don't buy any junk, and buy lots and lots of healthy variety, that I don't feel deprived at all, I get a lot of satisfaction out of tasty healthy food. I've been branching out too, and trying new things. I just keep trying to make better choices. Thanks about the pic, I think my expression and the angle is a little weird, but it was the best face pic I could find to use for an avatar. Let us know how the second fill goes, I'm trying to decide if I need to schedule one or not... my hunger seems to come and go in waves, sometimes I think I have restriction, other times I don't think I have any!

I just finished reading Wicked, I loved it. Definitely recommend it, and his other reverse fairy tales too. sleep apnea, yeah that can mess with you! You take care too! I'm fond of witchiness, I've known many different types, and haven't met a witch I didn't like. I agree there's a little witch in all women. XO Leila

Ouch, I'm sorry that has happened to you. It seems to be going around a lot. I don't always agree with people, but I try not to make it personal. It's hard not to get dragged into these things. XO Leila

Ouch, I hear you, I'm not bipolar, I have major depression, but Effexor alone doesn't work for me, I have to take a cocktail of meds, and a few of the ones I take cause weight gain. You know counsellors and drug treatment programs are confidential. NA is confidential. The only people that will need to know are you, and which ever professionals or support groups you choose to involve. These are people who are either very experienced in working with addiction and are not judgemental, but understanding health workers, or people who share the same struggles you do. If you feel the need to hide it from people in your life and your family you can still do that and get help, you can tell them you are getting help around your depression or whatever, but don't let it hold you back. You might want to look into taking a mood stabilizer in a lower dose rather than cutting it out completely. Have you tried Tegretol? It's an anticonvulsant med like Depakote, some people find they have less side effects on some meds than on others, you may have less weight issues on one than you do on another. What I've chosen to do with my weight gaining side effect meds are to take as low a dose as I can with still getting a positive effect. A lot of the weight gain from these meds comes from them causing you to crave carbs and to cause you to feel hungry all the time, with the band, a lot of those side effects are minimized or gone totally. I'm still on my meds that cause weight gain, but since being banded I -am- losing weight. I talked about it a lot with my family Dr, with my psychiatrist, and with my surgeon, and they all felt you can still lose the weight with the band, while taking meds that cause weight gain. So don't give up on them. Get help, and get yourself back on track, you deserve it. big hugs Leila