Me

[HYHYBT]

The gum thing may vary person to person, at least in whether it helps or hurts.

What I'd like to know, and this is at least as much of a general question as it is one related to this specific case: why are people so big on substituting water for soft drinks *even when the drinks in question contain no calories?* Coke Zero has caffeine. That can be a benefit, if you don't drink it before trying to sleep, particularly if you're complaining about a lack of energy.

[Andara Bledin]

Soda is actually full of all sorts of nasty stuff that you really don't need to be ingesting. The caffeine is just the beginning. There's also phosphorus, colors, sweeteners (fake sugars lie to your system - it's better to stick with actual sugar if you're craving something sweet or you'll just keep on craving it).

As for water versus other stuff, as long as you don't drink too much water (which will kill you), it's preferable to most other options. The reason electrolytes are important is because water is an insulator and the brain requires something else in the water in order for the brain to function. Most people will never have any reason to care about it, but it's an important fact if you have issues with hydration.

Electrolyte is just a fancy term for salts, medically, which are vital.

^-.-^

[anakhouri]

Andara is right about soda; it's especially bad for women, because it sucks the calcium right out of your bones. Also water is much better for your skin.

I can't help much advice-wise; I like having worked out (I don't like working out!) and if you can do it first thing in the morning, it gives you more energy the rest of the day, helps you sleep better and the lady on my workout tape claims it speeds up your metabolism for the rest of the day, helping you burn more fat all day.

As for stress, you can be stressed even if you don't feel like you have a reason to, and not even know it! My mom had symptoms that ppinted to a brain tumor but tests showed it was just anxiety she didn't know she had.

It is hard to be polite and submissive to snarky people, everyone has that problem. It's learning to control it and bite your tongue. If you are polite and reasonable to someone who is being an ass, anyone observing will know who is the better person in that exchange. try to remember that. Pretend you're a Jedi trying to be diplomatic, that's what I do! "Sure, I COULD sever your torso with this lightsaber, but that's not the right way to use the Force, I have to be humble and use my powers properly." I'm a dork, though.

Sorry you're unhappy right now. Everyone goes through it at some point and it sucks.

[Andara Bledin]

Soda does nothing to "suck the calcium" out of your bones. Neither the caffeine nor the phosphoric acid have any net effect on calcium levels or bone density. The phosphoric acid has no effect at all, and the effects of calcium secretion caused by caffeine are accounted for by the body's regulatory system and compensated for after the fact, leaving a net effect the same as not having caffeine at all. Soda and bone loss is correlated without causal effect. However, that doesn't change the fact that it's still full of a lot of crap you just don't need to be ingesting (not that it stops me from my morning Dr Pepper).

^-.-^

[blas87]

The gum thing worries me, because I have a piece of gum in my mouth from the moment I get to work until I go home, unless I eat or smoke.

I am always chewing gum at work, so 11 out of 12 hours, empty or full tummy.

I don't chew nearly as much when I'm at home, but I do tend to pop a piece if I can't smoke right now or if I just finished a smoke, so I don't offend anyone with nasty breath. I guess I chew as much gum in public as I do at work!

[Andara Bledin]

A greater worry for you would be your jaw and teeth. They're not designed to be doing that much work for such an extended length of time. It can lead to problems down the road that can be both painful and expensive.

^-.-^

[fireheart17]

A bit of an update (I did briefly post something on CS.com, but accidentally took it down the wrong track leading to the thread being closed):

-I had to put swimming on the backburner due to the weather and a lack of decent swimsuit. The swimsuit issue has been solved. I'm also about to start my on-the-job training, so if the boss doesn't mind, I might also do some laps as well.

-I have noticed I am starting to get a little bit more "Pear shaped" (meaning that my hips are wider than my boobs) and my stomach isn't as bloated as it used to be.

-As far as food goes, I've noticed that if I chop up about half a dozen carrots into small sticks and have them with some dip, I end up feeling very full afterwards, so I have managed to find something filling for the time being. Only problem is that due to a lack of bag space, I can't take them to uni with me. When I go on placement, I will take them with me though.

-I had the psychiatric review. Based upon the 90-minute consultation, he said that it was what's known as "mixed state", but did not specifically label me with having bipolar, based upon the fact that I did not display other symptoms of a manic episode in the past (rapid thoughts and to some degree, speech, concentration and memory issues). I don't know if part of his diagnosis may have also been because I kept bursting into tears over two things: either a) mentioning what has happened to me in the past or b) talking about my self image in general. I was also extremely nervous about the review in itself.

As a result of the review, he gave me two choices: either go on medication, or go to dialectical behaviour therapy. Here's the problems with both of them:

DBT: I've already mentioned the issue of "not being able to back down". I'm afraid that if I go on the DBT, I'm not going to be able to defend myself should I end up being picked on again, no matter where I go. I'm sick of putting up with other people's crap and I'm trying to be more assertive, but I'm afraid that DBT is going to force me to be passive again. Plus, I have placement in a couple of months, I can't miss that otherwise I fail my degree. on top of that, I've heard stories from DBT: you're beaten down, being talked to as if you're five years old and you have to give up every aspect of your life. I've worked my hardest to fit in and I don't want to give it all up again. I just want to be socially accepted and not ostracised yet again.

Medication: We're looking at treating the symptoms specifically. So now I need to find a medication that does not cause weight gain OR those same memory issues I keep having. Unfortunately all the medications that are recommended cause weight gain. And for those who say "but I went on <x> and I didn't gain weight", like I said, I see food and I stack on weight. So guaranteed, every single medication that I find that has weight gain as a side effect, will cause me to stack on the weight. And the search continues....>.> The ones that don't cause weight gain either have memory issues as a side effect or I need to be monitored constantly. THAT I don't mind so much (the monitoring), the memory issues are worrying.

In the meantime, I am happy that I got my placement for uni and my training, so I can start those soon.

[blas87]

You aren't the only one. I think of food and my pants get tighter.

[Mytical]

I've been there (up to 305lbs) and sadly I can't say that I got down to where I am by any specific thing I consciously did. Took me getting really sick, to where I could not even keep water down, from NASH to get my body to start loosing weight. When I was finally able to start keeping things down, it was a 'liquid diet'..my stomach had shrank so much because I couldn't eat..it was the only thing that would fit. Effectively the illness had given me my own 'natural' equivalent to a stomach stapling.

That was just the start of my weight loss though, I did start drinking about 8-16oz of cold water before eating or drinking anything else. While it lets you eat/drink..it does fill you up a little..so you eat/drink less. Try it if you wish, but won't work for everybody.

I wish you luck in your efforts, but I do want to say this. Healthy is one thing, and by all means try to be healthy. As for beautiful..you are already that. You might not be able to see it, sometimes the billboards/magazines/society/etc cloud peoples vision..but in the midst of all that shouting and clamoring..there is at least one voice that will always whisper. You are beautiful, just as you are.

[radiocerk]

You mentioned menstrual irregularities, put together with unexplained recent weight loss, have they tested you for POCS (poly cystic ovary syndrome)?

I tend to be a proponent of Health at Every Size. It isn't what size you are wearing, but your health that matters. Not everyone can be thin. Some people have health conditions making it hard to be thin, and weight is largely genetic, as is height. The important thing is to improve health, to eat food that makes you feel good, physically and emotionally, and to participate in physical activity that you enjoy and makes you stronger.

Stress can make it harder to lose weight, and that includes stress about being unable to lose weight. Stress also increases problems with metabolic processes.

There are a few meds out there for bipolar that don't tend to come with weight gain as a major side effect. If you aren't a serious threat to yourself or others, they can try you on anti-convulsants which are widely used for "mood disorders" and not all of them cause weight gain.

[Mytical]

Dang it, we need a version of the like button. Radiocerk..if there was a like button (or equivalent) I'd use it for your last post.

[fireheart17]

You mentioned menstrual irregularities, put together with unexplained recent weight loss, have they tested you for POCS (poly cystic ovary syndrome)?

I tend to be a proponent of Health at Every Size. It isn't what size you are wearing, but your health that matters. Not everyone can be thin. Some people have health conditions making it hard to be thin, and weight is largely genetic, as is height. The important thing is to improve health, to eat food that makes you feel good, physically and emotionally, and to participate in physical activity that you enjoy and makes you stronger.

Stress can make it harder to lose weight, and that includes stress about being unable to lose weight. Stress also increases problems with metabolic processes.

There are a few meds out there for bipolar that don't tend to come with weight gain as a major side effect. If you aren't a serious threat to yourself or others, they can try you on anti-convulsants which are widely used for "mood disorders" and not all of them cause weight gain.

Are you able to PM those names to me?

Also, the menstrual irregularities are due to me being on the Implanon, not due to anything else. This was a one-off.

[fireheart17]

So I did a presentation today at uni. And it was about 50-50. I was aiming for higher and better.

Compared to my classmates, I felt like an absolute failure. I flubbed my way through my entire script, trying to sound "natural" as opposed to robotically reading off of a script like a great number of my classmates were doing. (I was also trying to drop our time as several other groups went over 20 minutes, we tried to keep ours to 15 minutes)

My problem? I would have those "ditzy blonde moments" as I call them. Almost constantly. It would be something like "So yeah, this is the way that these schools run" and it did not sound good. Even though I tried to stop it. Even though I ran through my script repeatedly. I just sounded like a ditzy blonde valleygirl throughout the end of my presenation.

[AdminAssistant]

The best way to eliminate verbal static ("yeah" "um" "like") is to tape yourself giving the speech and then listen to the tape. It's a painful experience for sure, but it's the best way to improve your speaking.