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Kim-Bee BearsI use to drink soda when I was younger... I only (on a rare occassion - like once a month) will drink a root beer but that is it. I would rather drink milk or water...
Back Road BearsHeather,
Believe it or not my mother was forever sending me emails about the horrid stuff in diet sodas. I deleted them or else I'd send them as motivation to you! I started drinking flavored iced coffee instead... still caffine but not the carbination and I can control how much sweetener/cream I put in. Now I try to focus on water mostly as I have dry skin year round, the extra h2o helps a lot!!
Food in the belly at bedtime = restless sleep & vivid dreams for me. I keep a bottle of water by my side in the evening to curb the munchies and a piece of gum sometimes does the trick too.
I also brush my teeth when I have the munchies. Who wants to eat right after getting their teeth all clean and breath smelling fresh??? :D
Well, this stuff works for me....80% of the time! 
LuxembearsDaphne, what great ideas you have. Brushing your teeth to curb munchies. Munching reeks havock on diabetes so I try to fight it but it is sooo hard at times. I am going to try that.
Thanks!
Pandy Potter BearsI am biased but I lost over 70 lbs doing Slimming World (just got my maths wrong it was 5 stone in old money!)http://www.slimming-world.com. The plan is to eat loads of the healthy stuff. I actually use a large plate to fit it all on. On a green day I eat loads of pasta or potatoes or rice and a small amount of chicken or bread etc. On a red day I eat lots of chicken or fish but less pasta or potatoes.
It is really about finding a plan that you can do long term not the quick weight loss and but it back on types. Not being hungry is also what you need from any plan. Plenty of fruit, veg and don't forget your treats too. You need to be able to still have some so you can keep going long term. All the best with what ever you do.
MerBear OriginalsI'm surprised at how many members are admitting to having or had bouts of depression. I was diagnosed last year with clinical depression but thought that I could handle it myself and it would just go away in time so after a couple of months I stopped my meds. Much to my dismay it didn't go away and I crashed. Now I faithfully take my meds and hope I can go off them in a few more months. Unfortunately the meds can affect you either with weight gain or weight loss. Guess what I got!!!
Marion
Baird'sBears
Hang in there, Marion,
I'm on Zoloft for depression. I gained weight for the first few months, 
but after about a year, the weight is melting off. The heat here might have something to do with the melting, but I suspect that weight gain/loss is another temporary side effect. Some side effects wear off quickly, some take time. For the first few weeks, I couldn't stop belching! Very embarrassing! :/
Clinical depression is NOT something you can handle yourself, any more than you could heal a broken leg by pulling up your socks and getting on with it. Depression just gets worse, and then it's more difficult to treat, because depressed behavior has become part of a life routine. You really need to attack it 
! Give it no quarter.
Eileen
MerBear OriginalsThanks for the encouragement. I was feeling isolated and I must admit a bit ashamed that I just couldn't handle this by myself. I really didn't want to talk to people about it and wasn't really thinking of it like an actual illness. I do feel better on the meds and my husband is grateful cause he bore the brunt of my anger. Aren't husbands great!
Marion
Depression in many cases has organic foundations. It's hard to struggle with the stigma, real or perceived, of "mental health issues," but people like Brooke Shields are putting a new face on the realities of depression (post-partum, as in her case, or otherwise), and the importance of both chemical and behavioral treatment methodologies. Eileen is so right; once depressed lifestyle choices have become habit, it's harder to see significant change through medication alone.
I'm delighted to hear that so many of you are pro-active in your handling of this sometimes crippling condition, and to read that you're so informed. My BA is in psychology and my husband has a MA and his MFT (marriage & family therapist) license, so we are very accepting of the idea that "no man is an island" and... ya know... that s**t happens sometimes; it's nobody's "fault." Plus, we know more than your Average Joe about these issues, simply due to schooling choices.
Still, my own mother is so bothered by the idea that she's "depressed" that she refuses medication AND therapy and instead allows her depression to control and, in the end, quite literally steal, her life.
Bravo, ladies. 
I'm glad you can be a support system for one another. Let's just hope Tom Cruise doesn't read TEDDY TALK!
Winneybears and Friends"Stealing your life"...You are so right Shelli.... I took care of someone in my husband's family off and on for years with mental illness. She had been in and out of hospitals so many times....but the real deterant in her not being able to get well was her family.
They just refused to accept that there was any mental illness in THEIR family. They ignored doing anything about the problem for years ....and would blame her getting ill on anyone or anything else...They were embarrased by her presence. A very complex case...the patient ended up in a care facility til the end of her years..she died here recently. ...A very sad story...Winney
Past Time BearsMarion . . . I was reluctant at first to "come out of the depression closet", but it is so widespread that I don't find it to be uncomfortable anymore to discuss. It's just that it affects your mind rather than your foot or back or arm or whatever. Conditions that mess with your thought processes have a murkier reputation than a more concrete situation like arthritis, diabetes, broken finger, etc. Hopefully, mental illness will come to be thought of as a 'real' illness and not a "that's all in your head . . . why can't you just get over it?" kind of attitude. Thanks too, Shelli, for your enlightenment . . . depression seems to run amok in my family - my mom, my two daughters, and me!
Pandy Potter BearsSue Ann your post struck a cord. My grandmother had a nervous breakdown and was on highly addictive tranquilizers at the time. I am talking years ago and medication has come a long way since then. I have noticed different members of my maternal family have been afflicted with varieing degrees of depression. Like you say it is very common now, or rather discussed more now. I am lucky it has never got too bad but am still conscious of it 'stealing my life', the one I should be having! The posts here have been very enlightening, thanks all.
ontario, canadaa carb-detox will take those cravings away. really. no kidding.
you won't want bad carbs after detox.
Yes, Ellen! As I mentioned before -- not trying to plug Atkins here, really -- I've never felt better in my entire life than I did when I went off carbs entirely on that program. I don't like it for many reasons (see previous posts) for a long-haul type of plan, but dang me, did I feel GREAT getting away from anything that looked like flour or sugar. Seriously. The energy just flew off me in waves.
ontario, canadai've not tried Atkins - probably never will - for reasons you sight. BUT i am a great advocate for south beach. they teach you how to eat better - getting the "good carbs" and "good fat". i've never felt better. it's all just common sense but we all need a push now and then.
Yes, and you have pushed me into digging out that South Beach book and giving it a read. I've been avoiding...
ontario, canadahay! this sucker just crashed on me.
i wonder if i can retype that post..... :lol:
i don't remember what i typed....too old!
bottom line - you won't regret trying south beach. just try it y'all - and let us know how you do.
*munching a delicious hunk o'low fat old cheddar*
Back Road BearsThose of you with evening munchies.......
Eat more protein at dinner, and a satisfying amount of carbs like potato, pasta, rolls (just don't over do it!) and get some good veggies in there too. I think it's better to have a real satisfying dinner than to try to eat light then munch in the evening. I used to do big salads at dinner and guess what.... I was eating ice cream, popcorn, cookies, ANYTHING by about 8:30!!
Hugs,
Daphne
ontario, canada*nod* nyup, gotta have good protein to get you thru.
I did atkins for a while I lost a stone in weight (not sure what that is in Lb)
I got a throat infection (nothing to do with Atkins) and couldn't stand to eat any meat.
I love salads but startrd eating my normal stuff again and put the stone back on.
I am now attending weight watchers with my daughter who has done there points system and over 16 weeks has lost 2 stone and looks really well, she is now at her target weight.
My mum also has been going for a year and has lost about the same amount.
the good thing is having the book you can write every tihing down and keep a record of what you are eating with the points system so you don't get confused and you loose steadily too. going to the group you feel encouraged not to give up. I am not a large lady but not as slim as i used to be before having 3 children and learning to drive 18 years ago 
Upstate New YorkKerren ~
I don't know what a stone is in lbs. either, but I think I can still safely say I need to lose a few boulders! (Sorry ... early and I'm still on my first cup o' coffee.)
Deb
hi Deb you made me laugh! :D
i think a stone is 14lb
that is a few boulders on my part!
hugs Kerren
I think it's fascinating that in the UK you lose stones, but pay for things with pounds. Talk about confusing the average befuddled American!!! 
Hi Shelli,
Yes but i still measure in inches non of this centimeter millimeter stuff i get so confused!
hugs Kerren
If I had to measure myself in millimeters I would be the most depressed person on earth. Can you imagine the size of a waist measurement in millimeters? Why go on??? Laughing here...
Baird'sBears Good for the Brits, Kerren!
Here in Canada, we were dragged into the metric system by force. There's nothing wrong with the metric system, but rrreallly!
Merchants had to buy new scales, etc. At first, the govt even refused to let both systems coexist, but retailers are sneaking back to inches and ounces here and there. The lumber industry never did give in!
I had to teach my kids what miles and pounds and feet and yards are. They're still a bit unsure.
Eileen
